The Longer I Live
by thatawkwardsoftball
Summary: Christine and Erik are sweethearts in high school and throughout college until they uncover dark memories from a long forgotten past. E/C smut.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The New Girl

It was Christine's first day of high school in America and she was worried, not scared, but worried. She was worried that her clothes were too foreign, that her hair was too messy, and that the American kids would make fun of her accent.

She was a foreign exchange student from Sweden and was staying with the Giry's until her exchange term was over. It was good to get a change of scenery, her father had always told her to travel as much as she could. Christine walked with Meg Giry to her first class of the day; she was Christine's only friend and didn't have this first class with her. For some reason, Christine thought it would be hell, that they would be doing some impossible math problems or that her English would never be good enough.

Meg gave her arm a little squeeze when they stopped at the door. "You'll be fine, Chrissy," she reassured her. "You have my number in case anything goes wrong. Good luck!" She gave Christine one last smile before rushing to her class.

Christine wandered over to an empty seat in the back of the class and chewed her lip nervously as the other students soon filed in. The first thing she noticed was how much darker their hair and skin were. She noticed that the girls, who were blonde, didn't have the color naturally and were dressed in clothes that revealed. Christine shyly looked down at her skinny jeans and green and white striped shirt. She dressed warmly because in Sweden, it was usually too cold to go without a jacket. However, in the hot month of August, the American girls showed off their tan legs.

Christine knew this wasn't starting off too well and kept her head down, pulling out a book to make herself look busy. She didn't even notice the boy sitting next to her, who was drawing in his notebook silently as to not draw attention to himself either.

The boy in question was Erik Destler. He had always been an outcast in any social setting, even in his own home. Erik was born with half of his face deformed and from that moment on, his parents had a lingering hate for him. His father was a very rich businessman and they belonged to many high scale clubs. So when Erik was born with the face of the devil, they quickly had him in surgery from day one. It was a good five years before the surgeries stopped and every so often during his growth to a man over six foot, he would have to go in for a few fix ups. It was the one thing his father didn't mind paying for.

Erik had never cared about money or social status. His parents kept his existence quiet for the most part, so he was tutored at home until they relocated for the dozenth time to Houston. His mother grew tired of his looming presence in the house and that was why he was there in public school, hiding at the back of the class.

Erik had an affinity for music and anything creative. He had read nearly every book in his father's library while growing up, which was why he was bored out of his mind. Instead of paying attention to the teacher, he drew or wrote melodies that came to his mind. School felt like a job to him. He would go as he was directed and come home. He did not speak to anyone or waste his precious time trying to.

This day had been hell from the start. Erik, normally adorned in all black, was sweltering in the summer heat. That was also the day that they had to pick partners for science labs. He groaned, knowing that no one would pick him and that whoever would be stuck with him, would hate his guts. Reluctantly, he looked up as everyone started to pick partners. That's when his eyes connected with hers, a beautiful blonde that he had never seen before. He shyly looked back down at his hands.

"H-hallo," her sweet voice reached his ears. She had a very thick Scandinavian accent that coated her mild, soft voice. "My name is Christine. I am new." She fought for words to say, but nothing came to mind. So she sat awkwardly, watching him, waiting for him to make the next move.

Erik's eyes widened as he looked down at his hands. He quickly looked up at her and then back down. She was talking to him?

"I was hoping you could show me… What we are doing? The instruction are - it is very confusing," she said disquietly.

So it had come to this. He had gotten away with not speaking to anyone until now. He took a deep breath and looked up but not directly in her eyes...he would build up to that. "Well-" His voice cracked and he quickly turned scarlet all over his face.

She let out a soft giggle and stood up. She took his hand and pointed to the lab aprons and goggles. "We must… Put these on our faces, ja?" They didn't have such bulky goggles at her school.

His heart started to beat quickly. No one ever touched him and if they did, it was by accident. "Y-Yes…" He got up and accidently knocked over the desk he was sitting on. He was gangly and extremely tall which didn't help his clumsiness. He quickly picked up the desk and strode over to the lab table they would be using. Christine followed behind him like a puppy dog. She put on an apron and tried to fit the goggles over her mass of curls. They were doing a simple experiment today and Christine suddenly smiled.

"I did this last year in my college chemistry class," she grinned cheekily up at Erik. She was highly intelligent and more advanced than the students here because Sweden was far more ahead in schooling than America. In this high school, you couldn't even take dual credit course until your junior year. "However, the textbook reading is difficult," she trailed off. "Will you help, please?"

"Um...sure." He read the instructions out loud to her. They were making rock candy as an icebreaker to start the year off. "Okay, so we need sugar cane, a 250ml beaker, a Bunsen burner, a ring, a screen, a ring stand, a glass rod and a weight." He took her over to the supply room and started to gather what they needed.

Everyone kept glancing their way. Since Erik never spoke in this class and was now showing the foreign beauty around, it was different to them. Christine knew exactly what to get now that he'd read the instructions to her. She helped him take it all back to their table and got to work. It was very easy for the both of them since they were so smart. "You never gave me your name," she said softly.

He looked up from the book that held the instructions. "Oh, I'm Erik. What's your name?" He didn't extend his hand to shake it. He was a bit socially awkward.

"I'm Christine, did I not already say?" She tilted her head. Even though she was nervous about her first day, that didn't mean she wasn't friendly. Once she got into an environment that she was used to, she wasn't shy anymore. For some reason, she felt extremely comfortable around Erik.

He blushed hard again and fumbled with the pencil he was holding. "Oh, yes...sorry. Christine. Your name is Christine. Heh." He brushed his shoulder length, black hair out if his face nervously. He was a little skittish.

"You have very lovely eyes," she tried to find the right words, "One is very much like the ocean, while the other is like the sky."

Erik seemed to have a habit of being scarlet around her. It was true; he was born with two different shades of blue eyes. It was also another cause of people thinking he was a freak. She was the first one to say otherwise and he didn't know what to say. "T-Thank-" The bell rang then and they all put their experiments on hold until tomorrow. Erik looked down and grabbed his bag, quickly stuffing his things into it.

Christine followed him still and asked innocently, "If I may ask, what class do you have next?"

"Oh, um...I have English next. You?"

She dug into her messenger bag and pulled out a schedule and to both of their luck; she had English next. He could see the glint of excitement in her eyes. "Will you walk with me there, Erik? I get lost very easily here." He nodded and they made their way to class. He went to the back of the classroom like always, not expecting her to sit by him. He was awkward and didn't really know how to make small talk. She sat in the desk right beside him and pointed to his journal. "Music?" She asked with a tilt of her head. "You are a composer?"

He held the journal closer to him; he didn't share his compositions with anyone except for his music teacher Mrs. Giry. "Yeah...kinda."

"I sing, perhaps we have music together as well?" She inquired excitedly. She wanted to spend as much time with Erik as she could.

"Yeah...maybe." He felt so uncomfortable around her because no one had ever purposefully had a conversation with him before. He didn't mind her, quite the opposite actually. She looked up in fear as the teacher started talking quickly about the books they would be reading this year. She made little notes of the titles so she could get translations. She tried to follow along as best she could with spelling and reading; her grammar was perfect and had this class when in Swedish, it would've felt elementary to her.

Throughout the week, more people started to notice them. The new girl who was bright and beautiful and the freak that finally started to speak. At lunch they sat at the same table that normally only Erik would sit at by himself. It was odd but he was starting to enjoy her company. "What's it like in Sweden? I've read books about it but I've never been."

"Well, the weather is lovely there, especially in July. It gets up to twenty-two degree Celsius, which is seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit to Americans. It can get very cold, but no one seems to mind," she smiled to herself at the memories. She missed it very much there. "I live with my father in a house by the sea. We used to go play in the sand everyday and find starfish on the shore." He could hear hints of sadness in her voice and her blue eyes showed a bit of longing. "That was a long time ago," she added quietly.

"That sounds nice...I never do anything with my father." He frowned and played with the food on his tray. He was almost sickly skinny and yet he didn't seem to eat much.

She didn't mention her father again and frowned at him. "You need to eat." She poked his belly and giggled hard, her stern facade never stayed for very long. "I could snap you like a chicken!" She said with her thick accent.

He looked repulsed when she said that. "Why would you snap a chicken? That is fowl." He paused and then started laughing at his own pun. She nearly spat out her water and laughed hard. It was a light and contenting sound; it felt good to be heard.

"You are very good at comedy!" She giggled and clapped her hands once. She talked to him like she adored him. He smiled at her: a full smile that no one ever saw from him. It was nice having someone to talk and laugh with. That was when Meg came over to them, but tried to be discreet and act like she was texting someone.

"Christine what the hell are you doing over here?!" She whispered angrily.

"I am eating lunch with my very good friend," she said at a normal volume. She didn't understand the social boundaries of this high school and hung out with Erik because he was kind to her and she liked to be around him, she didn't know he was at the bottom of the social class food chain. "Erik, this is Meg Giry. She's Mrs. Giry's daughter, I am staying with them," she introduced them as if they hadn't gone to school together in years past, "Meg, this is Erik."

Erik didn't say hello to Meg, he knew better than to try and talk to anyone popular. "Christine come sit at my table...you shouldn't be over here." Christine could see the hurt in Erik's eyes that he tried so hard to keep covered. The next thing Christine said was something that Erik hadn't heard before.

"Why should I? I enjoy this very much," she defiantly said. "And if you were truly my friend, you would not judge me for who I am spending my time with, but supporting me for it." Christine crossed her arms and glared at Meg. "You may sit here or sit with your other friends, but either way, I am staying here."

Erik felt extremely uncomfortable now, "Look...I should go anyway, I have some work to do. I'll see you later Christine." He grabbed his bag and threw away his barely touched food. Christine frowned deeply and gave Meg a disappointed look before leaving too; she wasn't hungry anymore. She went to the music room to play the piano after school and relieve some tension. She didn't want to go home and get scolded by Meg at how much of an embarrassment she was today.

Erik never went home after school. As much as he hated school, he would rather be there, than with his parents. He stayed in the art classroom before going to the music room. Mrs. Giry had secretly given him a key so that he could practice. He went to unlock the door, but he heard music already being played. He pressed his ear against the door and listened.

Christine sat at the piano and sang softly in Swedish:

" _Shining sun has gone to rest_

 _So must you my baby_

 _Little birds are in their nest_

 _Come to yours my baby_

 _Little lamb can, soft and white,_

 _Snuggling, cuddle in the night_

 _So must you my baby_

 _Whistling winds go rushing by_

 _All for you my baby_

' _Round about the house they fly_

 _Just to please my baby_

 _Romping winds may play at night_

 _Twinkling stars may sparkle bright_

 _You must sleep my baby_

 _You must sleep my baby."_

She sounded like an angel, truly, an angel. She had such clear tone and sweet vibrato that it seemingly made the world fall away. Erik peaked into the room and watched her sing. He was in awe by her voice and eased his way into the room. He leaned against a wall to listen to her and accidently made a poster rip from the wall from his weight against it. The commotion was loud enough to make her stop playing. "Shit. Shit. Shit." He tried to pick it up and act like he wasn't there but it was too late. "Heh...sorry…"

She gasped sharply and stopped singing when the poster ripped, letting out a not so quiet, "Blodig Helvete!" Which was Swedish for: bloody hell. She placed her hand over her heart to steady herself and started laughing hard. "Well hallo to you as well, Erik," she giggled.

"Sorry...I didn't mean to interrupt. Usually no one else is in here…" He gave up trying to put the poster back up and just laid it on a desk.

"I didn't want to go home yet," she shrugged. "Meg's outburst was enough to scare me off for awhile." She sighs and shakes her head. "I am very sorry for her behavior."

"It's not your fault...I'm not popular. No one has ever talked to me before...like you do."

"Well, I don't see why they don't like you. As I have said before, you are kind and very comical. I am very happy to spend time with you."

He smiled and went over to her. "Do you mind if I sit with you?"

"Absolutely, my darling composer!" She made room for him and when he sat down beside her, she moved in just a little bit closer. "How long have you been playing?"

"Ever since I can remember. I was confined to the house for the first few years of my life so I taught myself how to play."

"Why would you be confined?" She asked hesitantly. "Were you ill?"

"You could say that…" He didn't want to talk about it anymore. "What was it you were playing?"

"It's an old Swedish lullaby: Swedish Cradle Song," she smiled and played a few keys. "My dad used to sing it to me before I went to bed most every night."

"Your voice is very nice…" He kept his eyes at the keys. It made him nervous to compliment her.

"Thank you, my Erik," she said happily. "Would you like me to sing for you again?" He nodded eagerly and watched her play. When she started, he played the harmony with her. She sang out the lyrics so beautiful, her voice rang out through the room and she closed her eyes in bliss. Singing made her feel like she couldn't be touched by any dangers or sadness and that attitude came off in her voice.

When the song came to a close, Erik smiled at her. "You should be in my advanced music class."

"Really?" She said hopefully. "I love music more than anything in this world. I wish to reach the top level they offer here!"

"I'll talk to Mrs. Giry. I'm sure she would let you audition."

"Especially since I sleep in her home as well," she giggles. "Do you wish to meet me here everyday after school, Erik? If you have nothing going on that is," she said sheepishly.

"Yeah. That sounds nice." He smiles. "It's late...we should probably go."

She nodded, but lingered there for a moment. She was watching him intently for a bit, as if to be thinking deeply. "Yes," she murmured, "of course." She got up and slung her bag over her shoulder.

They headed outside, "Can I walk you home?"

"I would very much appreciate it," she linked her arm through his and hummed happily. She seemed like she was used to this, like he'd always been by her side. They talked about music most of the way back to her house. It was already getting dark by the time they got there.

"Well I'll see you tomorrow…"

"Tomorrow," she assured and turned, going into her house. Erik turned and headed home with a smile on his face.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The dragons

There wasn't a moment in his life that Christine didn't intrude upon anymore. She sang with his accompaniment on the piano, she ate lunch with him, went to a few classes with him, and stayed with him as long as she could before they both had to go home. They had the closest friendship in mere weeks because they completed each other by Christine's pure and bright extrovertedness, which contrasted Erik's shy and dark brooding nature.

Erik had never felt such joy in his life, having a friend like Christine was the best gift he could ever receive. They had grown very close in the past few months and people even seemed to be teasing him less at school. Everyone seemed to pretend like neither of them existed and Meg decided to stay with her popular friends. When December rolled around, the school had dozens of posters dedicated to the upcoming Winter Formal dance, which Erik had avoided this at all costs in the prior years. He didn't much enjoy social events and he didn't even consider asking her until he overheard some boys talking about her in one of his classes.

"Hey, d'you know who you're gonna invite to the dance?"

"Dunno, maybe that foreign girl. She's kind of hot."

"Yeah but she hangs out with that emo freak."

"So what? She just doesn't know what's cool in America." The boy smirked and it sent Erik into a rage for the rest of the day. He was so distracted when he met her after school for their daily music sessions that he kept messing up the melodies. When his mistakes made her stumble on the words of her song, she grabbed his hands to make him stop playing.

"You are distracted and making me go mad," she chuckled. "What bothers you so much, my Erik?" She liked to possessively call him that because of the Scandinavian God, Eríkr, which meant eternally alone, which she never wanted to be true.

In all honesty, Christine had no idea what to think about the formal dance coming up. She never had such events in her elementary years and this was new to her as much as it was to Erik. She had never expected anyone to ask her to it.

"It's nothing…Let's just start again." When they started again he missed the intro.

She stumbled and paused, getting a little annoyed. "Erik," she growled this time. She flicked his ear and narrowed her eyes at him. "It is like your fingers are turning to stone. Will you not tell me what is the matter?"

"Because it's stupid." He sighed and put his face in his hands. "I overheard some guys talking about you today."

"So what?" She rolled her eyes and played a few keys nervously. "Guys speak all the time, it doesn't matter to me what they say." She assumed that they were only talking bad about her.

"One of them wants to take you to the dance…" He mumbled, hoping she wouldn't hear him.

"Oh," was all she said. She hadn't expected this, especially hearing it from him.

"A-Are you going to go with him?" He tried to pretend like he didn't care.

"Why would I?" She scoffed. "I do not know these boys here. I do not care for their pig headedness." She crossed her arms and stood up. "Besides, no one has asked me at all. They are cowards and are afraid to be unique, or with someone who isn't like them." She seemed angry, or maybe even hurt; she didn't know why.

"Um...okay." He looked at his watch. "We should probably go…"

"You should go with me," she said suddenly, not giving him much of a choice. "It is decided."

His eyes widened and he stared at her. "W-What?"

"You are going with me," she said stubbornly. "That is final."

"But...I don't dance! I don't even know how!" The thought of doing it and being in a crowd of people, stressed him out.

"I never asked you to dance, but I did ask you to go with me," she articulated. She raised her eyebrows. "You want to go with me, ja?"

"Christine...I don't think you understand. I hate crowds. I've never...I just can't. I'm sorry!" He grabbed his things and he quickly ran out. Christine sat back down at the piano when he left. She didn't like it. She didn't like being alone all of the sudden because with Erik's rejection of her, it made her young heart ache a little. She frowned at the new feeling and closed her eyes. It hurt her that she would brave the judgment and the crowds, but he simply would not. He was a coward just like the rest of them and with her frame of mind hurt and humiliated, she went home.

Erik went home and shut himself in his room. He flopped on his bed and his face in his pillow. "Fuck!" Neither of his parents came to check on him after he came stomping inside the house or moping in his room. They didn't offer advice about girls or social events. He was all on his own for now. He laid there for a few hours and he started to worry that Christine was mad at him. He went downstairs to leave the house.

At the Giry's, Christine was in her bedroom. She had on an Of Monsters and Men vinyl that reminded her of home. She was feeling sick both literally and figuratively. She missed home, she missed her dad, and she was feeling the cold sting of rejection. Meg couldn't console her and didn't really care to since it involved Erik. Her only offering of peace was an, "I told you so." Christine placed her head on her desk and sang softly with the words of her favorite band.

Erik's parents didn't say a word to him as he left the house. He walked to Christine's house and went outside her room. He looked around and climbed the tree by her window. He got on to the roof and knocked on her window. She let out a little scream and froze when she saw it was him. She started muttering curses to herself as she walked to the window. She opened it, but didn't let him inside.

"What, Erik?" Her accent was thicker now that she was upset. He could see her blue eyes were bloodshot from crying. "Can you not see that I am too busy to be bothered by a shadow tapping at my window?" There was no homework on her desk and the music kept playing in the background, they'd known each other too long for Erik to believe that statement.

He stayed outside since she didn't invite him in. "I wanted to apologize for the way I acted."

"You merely said how you felt," she choked out. "You do not wish to go at all. That is fine." It wasn't fine to her though. She was worried that this had something to do with her because he had been doing so well with not being so anti-social, that perhaps they could do this together.

"I just...hate crowds, Christine. It's nothing about you. I actually really enjoy your company." He blushed hard and looked down, his long hair falling over his face. She glared at him for a moment before her icy facade fell and she took a step back.

"Jäkla," she muttered to herself, "come inside before you fall." She sounded tired and annoyed.

He came in and stood awkwardly by the window. "Nice room…"

She sighed, "thank you, I suppose." She sat down on her bed and closed her eyes at the song that was playing. It relaxed her and it brought her guard down. "So you just came here to apologize?"

"Yeah I did...I don't want you to be mad at me Christine. You're the only friend I have."

"You should not run away when you are speaking to me," she said quietly, it was worse than any kind of yelling he'd ever heard because she meant it. "That is what makes me mad. You ran like a coward when I would have not been upset nor angry with you. Do you think me to be so shallow that I would have not understood?" Her blue eyes were sharp and accusing. "Do you think I would just abandon you like everyone else has? Or do you not realize that I am just as alone? I need you too, Erik."

No one had ever said that to him before and his eyes widened. "You do?"

"Well… Yes? You have taught me better English, you have helped me understand the culture, and you have protected me from the social predators just as much as I have protected you. We are very much so connected," she finally offered him a smile. "I need you, just as much as you need me."

"If...If it's what you really want," He takes a deep breath, "I'll go to the dance with you."

"That's not what I want," she shook her head. "I'm not forcing you to go. I just thought that it would be nice to spit in the eyes of the princesses and princes, while the two dragons danced." She shrugged. "We don't have to go to the dance to do that because we do it everyday."

He chuckled and got on his knee. "Christine Daaé. Will you go to the dance with me, fellow dragon?"

A smile broke out onto Christine's lips, "Absolutely," She stood up and eradicated the space in between them quickly, "my Erik." She wrapped her arms around him tightly.

That was his first hug. His heart beat extremely fast and he slowly wrapped his arms around her, putting her face in her hair. She was much shorter than he was, her head was right next to his heart and it thudded quickly right next to her ear. "You should calm yourself," she chuckled. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Please don't promise that… Because if it's not true…" He shook his head. He couldn't imagine not having her around now.

She giggled and pulled back slightly, "Just you wait and see, my Erik. I will be here until you have to rid yourself of me by your own means." She cupped his cheek and smiled widely. "Now go, before Giry discovers your presence and you get us both in some real trouble."

He nodded and smiled. "Goodnight Christine." He climbed out the window and headed home. It started to pour as he went home, but he didn't care. He was happy.

When he woke up the next day though, he felt terrible. He sneezed and coughed, his eyes were red and he couldn't breathe. He went downstairs to his parents who were about to leave for work. "M-Mom…" He sounded terrible. She didn't look up from her phone.

"What is it now, Erik?" she asked in annoyance.

"I don't feel good…" He was pale and sweaty. She held no pity in her eyes when she examined him and looked back down at her phone.

"I'll call the school and inform them of your absence. Rosa will take care of you," she concluded and walked out the door with his dad.

He frowned and made his way back up to bed. He was shivering and sad. He wished she would just love him and take care of him like a normal mother would. Rosa came up and took his temperature. She gave him soup and medicine. She took care of him like his mother was supposed to, but that was her job, there was no tenderness there. He got a roughly translated text from Christine later that day.

"Where is my dragon this day?"

He frowned and replied to her, "I'm sick in bed. I'm sorry I can't be there today."

She was in chemistry, missing him. "I am coming over then."

"You don't need to…"

"Yes I do." That was the last text he got before the doorbell rang an hour later. It took her awhile to figure out where he lived, but after that, it wasn't too hard to find because it was so huge. Rosa let her in and Christine provided the tenderness that Erik was deprived of. "Oh my poor Erik," she gushed over him and sat on his bed, petting his shaggy hair back. "You are so foolish to walk home in the rain," she giggled.

"Mmm I missed you." He was a little delirious from the cough medicine.

"I missed you as well," she smirked and kept petting his hair back. "My foolish dragon, you weren't there to help me slay the princes." She loved their little metaphor for high school now.

"I'm sorry...I-I can go…" He tried to get up to go to school with her. She easily pushed him back down and laid beside him on his bed, not caring that she was missing school or that she could get sick too.

"Oh hush," she chuckled, "you are fine." He nuzzled against her.

"My mother didn't care that I was sick…" It really depressed him. She cuddled up to him daringly.

"I care," her words rang in his ears for a moment. He couldn't help but smile and nuzzled against her. "Do you need anything at all?" She murmured after a moment of silence.

"Mmm just stay…" He started to fall asleep.

"Always," she kissed his forehead.

Christine helped him get better and his parents came home to the surprise of a petite, foreign girl nursing their son back to health. She excitedly introduced herself and shook his mother's hand. To them it was all polite, but to Erik, he could see her spite. She even gave the comment of, "Well Erik, now that your mother has returned, I should probably get home." She winked at him and kissed his forehead once more. "Call if you need me," was her final words before she left his house.

He got better after that. She had taken very good care of him, to a point where his mother's small acts of kindness couldn't even compare. When he got back to school, there were posters up about the dance and she simply told him that she was wearing a bright red dress in case he wanted to match.

Erik was extremely nervous about the dance. He didn't even know how to and he had to get a suit for himself. After school he met her at the music room. "Hey. Could you come with me to the store?"

"Sure," she grinned. Her English was getting much better and she often used slang and finally used contractions now. "Need help with what to wear?"

"Yeah, I've never been to a dance." They left and they stopped outside of an Armani store. "Is this okay?" Her eyes widened and she was speechless. Only giving a little nod, they went into the store together. She realized then, how rich Erik actually was even after being in his parent's mansion.

They walked around the store and looked at suits. "I like this one," he showed her one and the price tag was disgustingly expensive.

Christine touched its soft fabric nervously and murmured nervously, "It's very nice, b-but I'm afraid my dress won't be as nice as this…" She bit at her lip in some shame; she didn't have a lot of money. "You're sure your parents won't mind?"

"Yeah," He pulled out a credit card that had his name on it. He bought the suit and they got back in the car. "I need to make another stop."

"Very well," she nodded, knowing that her own shopping took more than two stops as well. "Where to next?" He just smirked and they stopped out of a dress shop.

"I want you to pick out any dress you want. As a thank you for taking care of me."

She frowned suddenly, not understanding, "But I already have a dress and have no need of compensation for taking care of my friend."

"It's just a gift...I want to get you something nice."

She couldn't think in that moment. She never had many things that could be classified as "nice," which made her flustered. She gave him a little nod, her face beet red from his generosity. "Thank you, Erik," she breathed out. He smiled and they went inside. There was nothing under a thousand dollars in there like dresses that were featured on fashion runways or worn by celebrities. Christine's eyes wandered towards the clearance section because that was all she knew to pick from. She was too modest and humble to branch out to the more beautiful dresses that caught her eye. There was one in particular that Erik kept catching her glancing at. It was a long dress, which was bright red at the top and down at the bottom it faded to orange and yellow; it looked like fire. It had orange and yellow gems on the hem of it that amplified its beauty. It was an extravagant and unique dress, for an uncommon girl. He smiled and went over to one of the sales women.

"Excuse me? Can you fit that girl in that dress?" He pointed to them and she nodded, picking up the dress.

"Miss, follow me to the dressing room." She gave Erik a desperate look, but it melted away when she eagerly followed the woman into the dressing room. She was curious; she wanted to see what it would look like. The woman fit her for the dress and had her turn to face the mirror. "What do you think?"

The dress fit Christine like a glove. It accented her curves and petite beauty. She just stared at herself in the mirror and murmured, "I feel very beautiful." She couldn't tear her eyes away from the bright dress that nearly hurt her eyes to look at. It glowed even in the unflattering light of the dressing room.

"Why don't you go show your boyfriend?" She smiled at her.

"Okay!" She squealed in excitement, not even paying mind to correcting her on how her and Erik weren't dating. She picked up the skirts and went out to see Erik. Other men even stopped in the store to give her an appreciative look. Erik grinned when he saw her.

"Christine...you look amazing!" He couldn't stop staring at her.

She blushed hard and twirled around for him. "It is very, very beautiful."

"Is this the one you want?" The price tag wasn't even on the dress. None of them had tags on them.

"Y-yes please," she murmured. "Is that okay?" She didn't want to cross over any boundaries.

"Of course," he smiled and paid for it. "Now let's go get some shoes."

"Shoes? I get shoes too?" She asked in bewilderment.

"Were you planning on going barefoot?" He chuckled and they got back in the car.

"Well, no," she trailed off, "but I never expected to be spoiled this much."

"This is nothing." He smiled. He liked making her happy. They both got nice shoes to match their outfits and he offered to go have dinner before he brought her home.

"Thank you, my Erik, for everything," she grinned. They ate dinner together and life almost felt perfect...except for knowing they would have to separate in an hour and not see each other until the next day. He wished he could be with her forever.

After dinner was over, Christine took her dress carefully out of the car when he drove her home. She begged him to come inside with her; she didn't want him to go either. "Come, my Erik!" She giggled. "I am going to teach you how to dance." He couldn't say no. He would spend as much time with her as he could.

"Will Mrs. Giry be okay with it?"

"She'll be fine, she's not my mom," she dragged him inside and up to her room with a brief hello to the two women in the house. She put on her record player and grabbed his hands. "Don't be nervous."

"Um...okay." He tried to calm his nerves. "What do I do?"

"Place your hands around my waist for now," she instructed and then guided his hands there. "And then I'll put my arms around you like this." She wrapped her arms around his neck and slowly started to sway them back and forth in a simple slow dance as "Let it Be" played in the background. "See?" She grinned. "I'm not so scary."

He chuckled nervously and stepped on her feet a few times before he got the hang of it. There was something so intimate about this and even though he had never kissed a girl before, something was compelling him to move towards her lips. Christine was watching his feet and humming along to the music. She eventually turned her face up to his and grinned. "You're getting better," she complimented and let him lead the swaying now. It wasn't anything too fancy, but it was still perfect nonetheless. Christine closed her eyes happily and leaned her head in closer on his chest. She could feel his heart thudding quickly against her head

He suddenly pulled back with wide eyes. "Um...it's late I should probably go…" He pulled his sweatshirt down further.

"Oh," she frowned a bit. "Okay." She tried to hide her disappointment. "I'll see you tomorrow, I suppose."

"Yeah...tomorrow." He held his sweatshirt down and quickly left and went to his car. He groaned as he sat down and looked at his arousal poking up under his pants. "Shit."

Christine went to bed with a frown. The day had been absolutely perfect, but she just hated it when Erik left, especially in such a sudden hurry like that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: The dance**

Erik was beyond nervous for the dance. Christine had helped him learn, but he still hated crowds of people. He was scared that his usual bullies would be there and make fun of him. Christine had agreed to meet him at the dance since Mrs. Giry would drop off both her and Meg. People hardly noticed him, they gave him a few looks of surprise that he'd actually showed up, but all their attention from him was diverted when Christine came walking in next to Meg. They were greatly contrasted since Meg went with the common blue dress that all the girls were wearing, while Christine walked in like a ball of fire. Their eyes followed her as she walked up to Erik and gave a little curtsy. Everyone was shocked, especially the boys who had been turned down by her, that she was there for Erik.

He smiled at her, "You look beautiful." He had a corsage for her and put it on her wrist. She blushed hard and pinned a red rose on his lapel.

She leaned over to him and whispered, "I think we sufficiently got everyone's attention, my Erik."

"G-Great…" He hated being center of attention. She knew of his discomfort and took his hands.

"Come on," she grinned and pulled him onto the dance floor. There were hardly any slow songs, but when there were, she would pull him close and have them do their simple slow dance. She murmured to him, "I like it, how they can see us together. We make a beautiful pair of misfits."

"You are beautiful…" He blushed hard saying that. She didn't say anything back, but her bright blush and sheepish smile was answer enough. He made her feel important, unique, and cared for. They danced all night long until they were the last couple there. He didn't want to let her go. "Hmm, they're cleaning up the streamers now," she murmured against his chest. "Maybe we should go."

He sighed, "Okay." He took her hand and they went outside. He didn't want to take her home yet. She stopped them just by his car, Meg had long since left with her friends, and they were completely alone. She took a seat on the curb with him, neither of them wanting to be without each other's company. She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes; the stars and moon above them were glowing brightly. It was entirely romantic and peaceful. "Thank you for coming with me. I actually had a really great time."

"Me too," she smiled meekly down at her lap, playing with a gem on her dress.

"So...Do you want to go get something to eat?"

"Not right now, thanks," she said softly and turned his face towards hers. She moved up and kissed him boldly. He gasps and doesn't kiss her back; he had never kissed anyone before. She moved her hands around his face and cupped his cheeks, deepening the kiss. Christine had kissed boys before, so she knew what she was doing.

He blushed hard and very slowly pressed his lips against hers. This was the best night of his life. It took a few minutes before he got the hang of it and he held her close. He pulled back and looked at her, "I...I think I love you."

"You belong to me," she mumbled and kissed his nose. "You are my best friend and I know I love you very much."

"You love me...as a friend? Or something more?"

"More," she breathed out. "There's just something about you, Erik. I don't know what it is, but from the moment I met you, I knew that I needed to be with you. I needed to be with you in any way I possibly could. I feel as though you belong to me."

"I feel the same way…" He couldn't believe she was saying this to him. No one had ever felt this way towards him before. Now that they had both confessed their feelings, he had no idea what to do next.

"So," she trailed off. "Dinner?" She let out a sheepish chuckle and got up from the curb. She was a tad bit flustered and didn't know what else to say or do. She was in the same awkward predicament.

"Yeah, dinner." He smiled and they got in a car to take them to a diner. She nervously kept fidgeting or playing with her dress. She had kissed him, danced with him, and confessed her love to him; there really weren't many more moves she could make now. All her cards were in his hand.

They had dinner but they took a while there so that they didn't have to leave one another's company. She held his hand underneath the table and couldn't help but grin. She was very pleased with how tonight went, it excited her for how future dates would go with him.

"Does this make us...boyfriend and girlfriend?"

"I would say that it does, yes," she giggled. "Is that okay, my Erik?" He grinned and nodded eagerly.

They went to a diner that Christine felt comfortable eating at. She wouldn't let Erik take her out to a fancy restaurant like he had wanted to. She insisted that she pay for half of her meal as well. She hadn't ever been taken care of like this, so she made sure to be humble.

"If I'm going to be your...boyfriend," he grinned at the title. "Then you'll have to get used to me paying for stuff. It's my job."

"Noooo," she whined. "Erikkkkkkk!" She pouted adorably. He grinned at her.

"I can't wait to spoil you." Christine grinned sheepishly down at her plate and blushed hard. She couldn't find an argument for how happy he was making her. She couldn't wait to be spoiled. They spent as long as they could together, but Mrs. Giry had a curfew for her. He walked her up to the front door. "I had an amazing night."

"I did too," Christine said sheepishly. She was waiting for a kiss most anxiously. She bit her lip and slowly looked up at him flirtatiously from underneath her eyelashes. He cupped her cheeks and slowly moved towards her, gently placing his lips on hers. She closed her eyes in delight and the door opened, they heard Meg's horrified gasp behind them.

"Oh HELL no," she chided behind them. "Christine, that's disgusting. You don't know where that's been." Erik pulled back and took a step back in fear.

"Shut up, Meg," Christine snapped and brought Erik close again. She kissed him deeply again and pulled back, murmuring softly. "Goodnight, my Erik," she whispered before going inside.

Erik rubbed his neck but couldn't help the grin come across his face. He went home but he couldn't sleep. He was too happy.

Christine disappeared inside the Giry house and went to bed with a smile on her face. Meg took the honor of telling the entire school that Erik and Christine were dating now. They didn't seem to mind though; Christine was far too into Erik to care. They loved each other so much that it actually made some people jealous.

Every day Erik brought her little presents. Whether it was flowers, chocolates, drawings or something he made by hand. Christine tried her best to do the same in her own way. She would often sing for him, kiss him, and show him affection. She was the sweetest girl in school and it was impossible for anyone to be mean to her, which meant they couldn't be mean to Erik either. That is everyone, but one jock, who made Erik's life a living hell: Raoul.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: The Bully

Before Christine, Erik had always been mostly invisible to everyone around him. Now that they were together, he had caught his peers' attention. This was something he didn't want, not even in a good way. He had to put up with it for Christine's sake but when it came to Raoul, it wasn't easy. Raoul de Changy was a football star, popular, and he lusted after Christine. He resented Erik for having her so he took that anger out on him.

The first time it happened, he corned Erik in the boy's restroom. He and his goons shoved Erik into a corner and started to beat on him. They took his bag, dumping everything on the floor. They punched him and kicked him until he blacked out on the floor. No one knew about it or cared that he wasn't around. The only one that noticed was Christine. He didn't show up to lunch or the classes they shared even though he had spoken to her that morning. She was insanely worried and kept shifting in her seat every minute that he wasn't there. She kept texting him and eventually got up, looking for him. There was a commotion around one of the boy's bathroom as she walked by. Christine paused when she heard them murmuring about "the freak." She immediately pushed everyone aside and ran into the boy's room.

"Move! Get out of my way!" she cried. Erik was bloodied and bruised on the ground. Everyone was whispering to each other, no one had even alerted a teacher. It was the most shocking thing to Christine; she had no idea that anyone could be so cruel. She sprinted to Erik's side, cradling his head. "Oh god, Erik, no," she said in a trembling voice. He was unconscious and his face looked terrible. His art and compositions were ruined all over the ground around them.

Christine couldn't believe this. She looked up to see the faces of all the students and roared at all of them, "GET OUT! GET OUT OF HERE!" She was crying over Erik's body and everyone who was whispering or watching scrambled out of there. She took her phone and texted Mrs. Giry what happened. The motherly woman came running in to the sight of all of Erik's ruined compositions and a teary eyed Christine, holding Erik's head. She called 911 and Erik was taken away in a stretcher to an ambulance. She called his parents as well, but no one answered. Christine went with them to the hospital, riding in the ambulance with Erik. Any person, who tried to tell her to leave, couldn't bear the words because of her heartbroken look. She couldn't leave him; no one could make her go. Christine remained by his bedside, always holding his hand.

His parents only came to sign the paperwork and assess the damage. He had to have surgery again and the pain was excruciating for him. They gave him morphine and wrapped his face in bandages. He looked like a war victim and even the local newspaper came in to do a story. It was even on the news. Christine was always in the shots of the pictures of Erik, it was never of his parents. She refused to be interviewed though, being named as Mr. Erik Destler's loyal friend. She was extremely protective over who got to see him and who didn't. She waited for him to wake up anxiously.

Erik didn't wake for two days and even still, he was drugged so heavily he didn't do much but look at her. It was nearly a week before he could start to talk again.

"Wa...wa…" His voice was so dry it came out like a whisper. Christine's head shot up when he spoke and she squeezed his hand.

"Erik?" she sat up quickly. "What do you need?" He tried to speak again but his voice cracked and he looked like he was going to cry. He tried again and the same sound came out. She was able to piece together some letters and rushed to get him some water, holding a wet sponge to his lips. "My poor Erik," she whispered brokenly. "My poor unhappy Erik."

He drank it eagerly but he couldn't move otherwise. "T-Thank...you." His voice was weak and broken. It wasn't his usual melodic sound.

"Oh my Erik," she kissed his hands and held them to her cheeks. "I'm going to go apeshit on whoever did this to you." She tried to cheer him up by using her newly found urban slang. She offered him a sweet smile and kissed his hands again and again. She was scared to kiss him on the mouth because of how hurt his face was.

He tried to smile, but everything was numb. When he started to heal, he had to go back into surgery so he was in the hospital for weeks. Christine brought him his homework so he could keep up with school. She kept asking him who did this and why. She wanted justice and to make an example of them so no one would dare hurt him again. Erik couldn't remember who it was, that whole day was gone from his memory.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Better days**

While he was in the hospital, it was his birthday, but he didn't tell anyone. He knew his parents wouldn't do anything for him. It was to his surprise though, that Christine had seen the date briefly on his medical history before he'd woken up and she had something special planned. He could see her walking down the wall to his room one day with a huge bundle of boxes in her arms and three balloons that were obnoxious and bright. As soon as she opened the door, she let out a joyous: "Grattis på födelsedagen - Happy birthday, my Erik!"

He couldn't believe what he saw and grinned as she set the numerous boxes down by his feet. "What is all of this?"

"It's your birthday and since you spoiled me so much, it's my turn to spoil you!" she sang out before going up to him and placing a kiss on his lips.

He smiled and kissed her back. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she ruffled his shaggy black hair and placed the presents in his arms one by one. "Open all of these! They're all yours!"

"How did you know it's my birthday?" He slowly started to open one.

"I happened to be handling some delicate medical files that just so wonderfully had your birthday on it," she said mischievously.

"You naughty girl," he chuckled and opened the first one. Within each gift was something new a wonderful. The first has five new and expensive sketchbooks; the second had five blank musical scores of the same quality. She got him expensive pens of red ink and little trinkets to make him smile, but the best gift of all she had saved for last.

"I figured that if I can't ever be around all the time, that you deserve a friend by your side. So…" she trailed off and from within her purse came a kitten. It was a very tiny Persian kitten with a red bow around its neck. "My Erik, this is Ayesha."

He gasped and took the tiny kitten from her hands. "She's so small!" He pets her lovingly and grins at Christine. "You are an angel. Thank you so much, love!" He kissed her and smiled down at Ayesha. "This is the best birthday ever."

Christine stroked his hair back and kissed the top of his head adoringly. "You deserve all that I can give and more. A simple birthday will be the start of our constant battles to out-gift each other, I believe," she chuckled and pet the little kitten's head. "Are you very happy?"

He pulled her close and had her sit next to him, "The happiest."

"I love you," she whispered as she curled up beside him. "And I want you out of here so we can go eat some well deserved birthday cake, which the receptionist wouldn't allow me to smuggle in."

"But you snuck in the cat?" he chuckled.

"Well now that was easy," she rolled her eyes. "She's tiny. I got you a big fucking cake." It was rare to hear Christine curse, but she only did it in a humorous way. He grinned and kissed her again.

"You really are the best girlfriend ever."

"And don't you forget that, my Erik," she grinned widely.

"I never could." He smiled. It was a long time before he could leave the hospital. The day he was released, his mother came to sign the paperwork, but left after to go to work. She didn't help him to get home or to even get out of bed. His muscles were very weak and they had to put him in a wheelchair to get him to a car. Christine had skipped school that day to help out with getting him home. His new kitten was sitting on his lap on the car ride home.

"You haven't missed out on much," Christine rambled on about school. "Same shit, different day." He was looking out the window and petting Ayesha.

"I don't miss it, honestly."

"I'm not the least bit surprised."

He smiled over at her and took her hand. "The doctor said I need to go to physical therapy...my muscles are really weak and I can't walk by myself," he sighed.

"I'll always be there to help you, my Erik," she murmured and gave his hand a squeeze. "Always."

"I love you." He squeezed her hand back, "Thank you for everything."

"It's what I'm here for." They got back to his house and Christine got him settled with the help of the maids. She got him in bed with his kitten and kissed his forehead. "I have to get back to school unfortunately, but I'll be back tonight with homework. Isn't that exciting?" she chuckled and grabbed her coat. "Until then, just rest. I won't be gone long."

He smiled lovingly at her, "Thank you." He yawned and pulled the covers closer. The physical exertion had him exhausted.

She left and went to school. She continued their routine of bringing him schoolwork until he was back on his feet at school. She hadn't noticed the way Raoul had been looking at her these past weeks that Erik had been gone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: All good things must come to an End**

 ****Warning sexual content****

 **If you want to skip it, move on after they return to her home**.

When Erik came back to school, everyone was actually a bit nicer to him. It was because of the news stories and how passionately spoken Christine was to the reporters, that made them feel guilty as well the need to be Erik's friend to make up for it. She had gotten him as much justice as she could've without knowing who the person was in the first place that sent him to the hospital.

Everything seemed to be fine. Erik was happy to see her more and not having to be trapped in his house anymore. One day, early on after he had gotten back, they both passed Raoul and Erik shuddered. He didn't understand why but the sight of Raoul frightened him. "Are you alright, Erik?" Christine asked curiously. "You're acting strange."

"I'm fine…" He took a drink of water to try and steady himself. Christine hesitantly looked back at Raoul who was laughing with his friends. She paused and suspiciously glared at him; he smirked at her when he met her eyes.

"I probably just need to eat...this medicine is strong." He shrugged it off and they headed to the cafeteria.

"Ja, food," she mumbled. They sat down and ate. Christine tried to coax Erik into a better mood by talking about music.

"Speaking of music...what are you going to do for our music final?"

"Amarilli Mia Bella," she murmured. "Madame Giry recommended it."

"Mm good choice. I was thinking about learning how to play the cello."

"Isn't it a little risky to learn how to play the cello for the final? What if you mess up?" Her attention wasn't really on their conversation. She kept anxiously looking around. "Besides the end of the year final is coming up in a few weeks. Can you learn it that quickly?"

"I don't see why not. I have an affinity for instruments," he said smugly.

"Mhmm," she sighed and played with her food.

"Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah," she murmured. "I'm just thinking." There was something about her tone that made Erik uneasy. She sounded sad. He frowned and took her hand.

"Christine, what is it?"

"I-It's nothing," she whispered.

"I know you're upset...what is it?"

"We should talk about this later," she asserted as she got up with her tray. "This isn't a good conversation to have now." He sighed and followed her out. She was quiet for the rest of the day and even when they did their after school jam session, she wouldn't sing as happily.

After a song, he pulled her to sit down with him. "Okay, what's the problem?"

"I-I have to go back," she squeaked, there were tears in her eyes.

He frowned, "Go back where?"

"H-h-home," Christine sobbed out. She covered her face and cried into her hands. Her shoulders shook with her sobs and the knowledge that she'd have to leave Erik. He didn't know what to say and pulled her into his arms. He was in shock and couldn't believe what she was saying.

"T-There has to be something we can do…"

"My education visa will expire by the end of the year," she sniffled. "I return home in May." He felt choked up and held her tight. He couldn't imagine his life without her now. She cried into his shoulder and shook harder. "I am so, so sorry, my Erik."

"I-I'll go to Sweden with you…"

"Your parents would never allow that," she sighed. "Besides, I don't even have a steady home for you to stay in."

"But then where will you stay? I-I can't let you go back to that!"

"It's the home I've been in for six years," she said sadly, "when my dad died. I'll be okay, I'll be taken care of." She tried to reassure him.

The information of her father's death made him refuse further, "Please...stay…" She couldn't answer him anymore; it upset her far too much. She cried silently against his chest, her tears soaking his shirt. They had to go home eventually though, so she begged Erik to walk her home and come inside even though it wasn't much of a negotiation considering how Erik didn't want to leave her. He couldn't let her go, it hurt if he did. The thought of losing her was too much.

"D-do you want to stay here tonight?" She hadn't meant it sexually, but she didn't want him to go. She'd shared a bed with him before in the hospital. He nodded and they both crawled into her bed. He just held her as close as he could. Christine didn't even bother changing into her nightgown and snuggled up to Erik. "I love you, Erik, so much."

"I love you too...angel." He couldn't sleep for hours. He kept thinking about how much time they had left.

"We can just make these next few weeks count, okay?" she murmured tiredly as her clocked beeped as the hour of midnight hit.

"Yes…" He mumbled, burying his face in her hair so she wouldn't see his tears.

"And we can Skype or something," she reassured him. "I won't get a Swedish boyfriend, I promise." She tried to make him laugh even just a little bit.

He just got as close to her as possible, "You're the only one I will ever love."

"Keep it that way," she murmured, moving his face. Christine kissed him deeply, her body flush against his. He kissed her back desperately, needing the comfort. She held his face still and slowly slid her hands into his dark hair, her fingers tangling amongst his shaggy tresses. He got into it quickly, trying to distract himself. He kissed her harder and moved over her.

"Mm… Erik?" she sighed against his lips. She didn't mind his weight on her, it was comforting and his desperate kisses created an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"Mm," he just continued kissing her, he was getting aroused but he didn't care. It felt so right to be close to her like this. She moaned against his mouth, the sound was foreign to her and she got more confused. He started to trail kisses down her neck. His hands played at the hem of her shirt.

"Erik," Christine gasped out. Her body arched against his touch and she tilted her head to the side as he kissed down her neck. He didn't know what he was doing; he just knew he needed to feel her skin. His hands slid under her shirt and he caressed her stomach and hips. Her skin was so soft that it caused him to moan.

Christine shuddered hard and grabbed his head, kissing him roughly. She had lost all sense of modesty and control: she wanted him. He took this as permission and he pushed her shirt up, wanting it off. She tossed it across the room and bit her lip. Before him now, she was only in a sports bra for her underdeveloped breasts and her jeans. She wanted everything off at this point, but the question still hung on her lips: what were they doing?

Erik groaned in desire as he saw her. He was just going by his instincts and they were telling him to get as close to her as possible. He threw off his shirt and kissed her again. She pressed her body up against his again and kissed him passionately again, her tongue slowly brushing up against his. This was completely new to him but it felt amazing. He brushed his back tongue against hers and they started to find a rhythm.

"W-we should g-get a… A thing," she panted out after they'd kissed for a while. "A condom…" She didn't know much about sex, but she knew the basics from health class.

"Mm okay...d-do you have any?"

"N-no," she said shakily, "but I think Meg does." She got up and threw her shirt back on, rushing across the hall to Meg's room.

Meg had her headphones on and was doing homework in her bed. Christine came in, flushed and flustered. She smiled sheepishly and blushed hard. "H-hi do you still have those condoms from your party?" Her friend's jaw dropped and she pulled the headphones out.

"...Why?"

"I'm putting them on cucumbers," she rolled her eyes. "Why do you think I need them?"

"With him? You're going to do it with the school freak?"

"I am going to experience the most passionate thing life has to offer with the man that I love before I have to leave the country," she growled and jabbed a finger at Meg. "And if you had any scrap of compassion or feeling of friendship for me, you'd help me out right now."

"Oh my God, just stop!" She shuddered hard and handed her a sandwich bag with a few condoms in them.

"Thanks," she snapped and snatched the bag away before going back into her room.

When she came back into the room, Erik was on the bed completely naked. Christine gasped and dropped the sandwich bag as her eyes slowly raked down his body.

"This is right...right?" He laid there awkwardly and started to cover himself with his hands.

"Y-yeah," she stammered. "Yeah I think so." She slowly went up to him and threw her shirt off again. She cupped his cheeks and kissed him again. They kissed passionately and Erik pulled her against his body. Christine unzipped her jeans and wiggled out of them from her awkward position. Erik looked down at her body and smiled.

"You are so beautiful."

Christine blushed hard and looked down shyly. She still wasn't used to his compliments, especially in a delicate situation like this one. "Th-thank you," she murmured. Erik moved over her again and waited for her to lay comfortably. She had picked up the discarded bag of condoms and nervously took one out.

"Here," she squeaked and handed it to him. She was far too shy to put it on him herself.

"Oh, thanks." He looked at the package and ripped it open. He pulled it out and frowned at the feeling of it. He even sniffed it a little before he placed the front over his tip. Christine watched as he slid it on and anxiously looked back up at him. They were both eventually stripped down until the two were bare and flush against each other.

He caressed her body and kissed her tenderly, "Are you ready…?" She could only reply with a stiff nod, her eyes never leaving his length.

He settled between her legs and his tip pressed against her. They both gasped as they were joined together: Erik in pleasure and Christine in discomfort.

He moaned, "You feel so good…"

She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip. "You're really big," she panted out.

He would of been proud of that but he saw the pain in her face, "S-Should I stop?"

"N-no," she whispered. "No it's okay… J-just go slow." He nods and pulls out a little before thrusting up again. Christine gasped sharply and a bit of blood spilled from within her. Erik couldn't feel it though; it felt like more wetness and warmth around him. However, Christine shuddered and now had tears in her eyes. He stopped and looked at her.

"Oh! Oh no… Don't cry! I'll stop!"

"I-it's fine," she whimpered. "I-it's supposed to happen during my first time…"

"I don't want to hurt you…"

"It's supposed to hurt," she promised. "Just keep going… Slowly."

He nodded and kissed her softly. He slowly moved in and out, trying his best not to hurt her. It felt incredible for Erik and soon enough Christine began to moan softly in pleasure. He kissed her and was sporadic with his thrusts.

"Oh god!" she cried out. "Oh my god, Erik!" She started to stream out curse words in Swedish, writhing beneath him as the pressure began to build. He could barely hold off, but he didn't want the pleasure to end either. "Please… Please," she begged softly. Her moans and pleads were enough to drive him over the edge. He thrusted a few more time and cried out.

"Christine!" He shuddered hard against her, falling atop her with a cry of pleasure when his climax struck him like lightning. Their bodies were slick with perspiration and they both panted in exhaustion.

He kissed her shoulder as he rolled on to his side next to her. "Mmm that was amazing."

"Mhmm," she mumbled. There was a dull pain within her and she felt unfulfilled from the pressure that had been building inside her. She shuddered against him and kissed him lazily. "Mmm… I love you."

"Love you too," he mumbled and curled up against her. They fell asleep like that, curled up in an intimate embrace. Erik's parents didn't even notice he was gone, so they spent all night together.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: Saying Goodbye**

The next few weeks were very similar to that night. Christine would spend hours on end with Erik, making love, playing music, and enjoying each other's company, but unfortunately the more fun they had, the faster time went. Soon enough, Christine's last month of school was up. She had to pack her things and get her plane ticket.

Erik had been dreading this month. He didn't know what he was going to do without her. He loved her too much. He had spent every hour with her, often sneaking into her room later at night to sleep beside her, and now he helped her pack reluctantly.

He recalled now as he stuffed her shirts into a suitcase when, on the last week, he had taken her out on a date. They saw a movie, went to dinner, and took a walk to their favorite part in the city, which was a high cliff that looked out over the entirety of Houston. As they gazed out at the view, Erik kneeled behind her.

"Christine," he whispered softly.

"Hmm?" She turned around to see him like that and frowned in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Christine… I know we're still young, but I already know I want to spend the rest of my life with you… I want your promise that we'll find each other again and… Marry me some day." He pulled out a little ring box. "It's a promise ring. Will you accept it?"

Her eyes widened and then welled up with tears. She gave a little nod and held out her right hand to him. "You have my solemn promise that I will return and find you again, my Erik. I swear it."

He smiled and slipped it on to her finger and kissed her lovingly. "The sun will never be as warm nor as bright when you are gone…"

"Enough with your soliloquies," she laughed sadly and kissed him again. "Promise me that you'll never look or think of another girl without first comparing her to me."

"That would be impossible. You're the only girl for me." He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"God I'm going to miss your damnable sweetness," she whimpered while cupping his cheeks. "Mm… Take me home…" He kissed her and they walked back home, hand in hand.

Now they packed her bags and boxes together, his promise ring now on her delicate finger. She was crying silently as she packed away her records that they had previously danced to before the winter formal. It broke his heart every time he closed a box that was packed.

"I'll come visit you…"

"I doubt again, that your parents will allow that, despite how much they just don't give a damn," she chuckled sorrowfully.

"I'll tell them it's for school or something," he insisted. Christine just shook her head and kissed his cheek. She didn't believe that he'd be able to go down to Sweden so easily, not with school and music going on.

"You'll have to see if you can't make it to State Competitions next year for choir and piano," she changed the subject. "You could very easily get top scores."

"Yeah...I guess." He didn't really care about that.

"Christine," Mrs. Giry spoke from the doorway. "It's time to go." Christine gave Erik a heartbreaking look and hugged him tightly. He held her tightly and tried not to cry.

"Tell me when you land...so I know you're safe."

"O-of course," she whispered against him. "A-and text me everyday, call me every weekend, I just need to hear your voice and know you're still there."

"I promise…" His voice shook and he kissed her until Mrs. Giry told her they had to leave.

Tears streamed down Christine's face and she handed him a picture frame from her purse. She whispered brokenly, "Don't forget me." She left with Mrs. Giry and said a brief goodbye to Meg who was actually crying at her departure.

They got in the car and started to drive away. Erik ran after her and cried out at the vehicle that went down the road, "I LOVE YOU!"

He received no shout back from her as they got too far away and was left behind with Meg. The picture frame in his hands contained a shot from when they went to the formal dance together. Mrs. Giry had insisted that they take the picture before they left. She looked marvelous in her red dress and he in his suit. They made a perfect couple and signed at the bottom was a message from her:

" _We'll never be too far away. All my love to you, my Erik."_

 _\- Christine_

Meg walked beside him and said sadly, "She really did love you an-and I'm sorry I wasn't more supportive of that…" She was extremely guilty now that Christine was finally gone. "She was like a sister to me and I didn't appreciate that. I'm so, so sorry I gave you such a hard time. I-I hope you can forgive me and we can b-be friends even though she's gone."

He turned to look at her and tears streamed down his face. "You're acting like she's dead!"

"Th-that's not what I mean!" She tried to reason with him. "All I'm saying is… Is that I want to be friends, that's all."

"I don't have friends." He got up and started to walk away. He hugged the picture to his chest, feeling broken.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: Three years**

Sophomore, junior, and now senior year had passed for both Erik and Christine in their separate high schools. Erik never got to visit her, in fact, during his junior year, his parents had been pushing him so hard to get a job that they didn't allow him to speak to her anymore because she was a "distraction." They had sent sparse letters to each other and had brief conversations over text, but there was that unavoidable drifting apart that occurred when you have a relationship over seas, but not a day went by that those two didn't stop loving each other.

Christine never took another boyfriend and stayed in her foster home in Sweden until she was eighteen. She had applied to all sorts of colleges in America just to get back there, to get back to Erik. She had been working for a year to get her green card and be a legal citizen before she went off to college.

Erik hadn't been completely alone throughout school. Eventually he and Meg did become friends and he also became friends with another new kid, Nadir Khan, who was Middle Eastern and was really into health and fitness. They quickly became friends and Nadir was always looking out for Erik, especially around bullies like Raoul. Erik went through a deep depression after Christine had left, but his two best friends had helped him get through it. Meg and Nadir seemed to know something that he didn't, as if they were one step ahead of him and knew this secret. For some reason, they acted like they'd known each other from years past and maintained a strong connection with Erik that he couldn't explain.

Now that he was eighteen, Erik had grown incredibly tall, well over six feet. He was a very accomplished musician in their state and was getting a lot of attention from colleges. When senior year rolled around, he was offered a full ride to NYU for music, but his parents wouldn't allow it. They had told him that being a musician wasn't realistic and that he wasn't good enough. The only way they would allow him to go to NYU was if he went to their business school. He reluctantly agreed just to get away from them. His father owned an apartment downtown and allowed him to move in. Meg and Nadir followed him to New York and he let them live in the huge apartment with him. He didn't want to be without his friends. At this point, it had been well over six months since he had spoken to Christine, in any form of communication, so he threw himself into his work.

Erik hated his business classes and decided to major in music at the same time. He was insanely busy and barely even had time to sleep. Nadir and Meg started to do that same thing where they seemed to know something that he didn't. Erik had no idea, but Meg had contacted Christine and informed her of their going to college at NYU and how unhappy Erik was, but things were about to change.

Now a citizen of the United States, Christine was easily accepted into NYU because she was a minority and wanted to surprise Erik with her arrival. She too had grown up just as Erik had. She had lost all childish looks to her face, it was now angular and beautiful, as well, she maintained the soft, luscious curves of a woman.

When Christine came to New York, she wasn't nervous like she'd been on her first day of high school. In fact, for the first time in three years, things were starting to feel right again. She'd gone through quite the change in Sweden, one that only Meg and Nadir would understand. She eagerly moved into the dorms. She was rooming with Meg who showed her when and where Erik's first class of the day was and where he liked to go after school and work. Christine dressed up for the occasion, wearing a new red dress to spark up memories.

She decided to intrude upon a café he'd go to after all his work was done and he wanted to unwind. He was drinking a coffee with Nadir when she walked in with his back was to her.

Nadir smirked as he saw her come in, "Damn. Gorgeous beauty at twelve o'clock." Erik rolled his eyes.

"I told you Nadir, I'm not dating anyone. Not after Christine…" he sighed sadly.

Christine was right behind him and held her breath before saying quietly, "Hello, my Erik." Her accent was a little thicker after living in Sweden again for three years, but it was still her same angelic voice.

Erik froze and his back went rigid. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, hoping he wasn't dreaming. He turned around slowly. "Christine," he breathed her name in relief.

Erik looked very much the same to her, but far older. His face was chiseled and he must have been a good foot taller now. He wore all black still, but he was dressed nicely with slacks and a button up. His hair was slicked back and he looked to have a five o'clock shadow. He looked like a man now, but there was such childish joy in his eyes at seeing her again. He stood so quickly that he knocked over his chair and engulfed her in his arms. His body was hard and lean with strong muscles now. "God, tell me this isn't a drea..."

"I assure you it isn't and my, have you have grown up," Christine giggled against his chest. She was the most beautiful woman in the room with her hair as golden as the sun and her perfectly sculpted body. She grinned widely up at him and whispered, "Not such a scrawny dragon anymore, my handsome misfit." She sealed their three years away by bringing his face down to kiss her. He was shocked that she kissed him so soon after their meeting, but he welcomed it. He had missed her so much. Nadir cleared his throat.

"Get a room," he chuckled.

Christine pulled back to see who spoke and her eyes widened a bit. She breathed out, "Nadir Khan."

"Christine Daaé," he nodded and stood up to say hello to her.

"I'm sorry," Erik looked at them like they were crazy. "Do you two know one another?"

Nadir gave Christine a warning look and she played it off with a laugh. "Meg had mentioned him on the phone, but I didn't expect her to have tastes in a guy who is actually presentable." Her excuse wasn't far from the truth and she turned Erik's face back towards her. She distracted him by caressing his cheek. "Mm, so I do believe we get to be the school's misfits again now that I've been accepted into NYU and can make your life exciting again."

"You got in too?" He grinned and hugged her again. "So, where are you staying?"

"Meg and I shacked up and I'm staying in her dorm," she sighed happily. Finally, she felt complete now that Erik was back in her life and all was well with the world again.

"We need to catch up. Are you free?" He put on his blazer and threw his coffee cup away. He completely forgot about being there with Nadir.

"I am yours for the evening and for the rest of my life, but what of your friend? You can't just ditch him for me," she chuckled. Christine honestly knew that Nadir wouldn't mind at all since they did need to catch up.

Nadir stood up, "Don't mind me. You kids need to catch up. I'll catch you later." He smirked at Erik and winked at Christine. She gave him a knowing look and nodded subtly without Erik noticing.

When Nadir was gone, Christine looked back up at Erik. "I hear Central Park is a lovely place to walk and catch up," she stated eagerly. "Perhaps we could talk there in a more romantic setting."

"Yeah! Perfect!" He slung his laptop bag over his shoulder. "Do you want a coffee or anything before we go?"

"I'm okay," she chuckled. "I am extremely jet lagged, so I am more awake than you think." She took his hand and couldn't stop smiling. "I've waited a long time for this day."

"Me too." He grinned and they hopped on N train to Central Park. They walked and talked until it was starting to get dark out, not realizing how late it had gotten. They had talked about the friends they'd made, their career choices, how hard it'd been to be without each other, and most importantly: how they still loved each other very much.

"So," Christine trailed off and grinned mischievously at him. "Now that we are properly reacquainted, I don't think it's too inappropriate to ask… Your place or mine?"

"Do we have to be quiet at your place?" He chuckles.

"Hmm, you do have a point. Meg would be there," she smirked. "Your place it is then." He got them a taxi and they headed uptown. They stopped in the Upper West Side, right by the park, and they got out. They entered a very nice building with a doorman who greeted him by name. They took the elevator to the penthouse.

"Well," she breathed out, "this is very nice." That was the last thing she said before kissing him hard as the elevator went up. He eagerly kissed her back, pinning her against the wall. She worked to unbutton his shirt and the elevator dinged at his floor. She grabbed him by his tie and dragged him inside. Erik pulled her into his bedroom and he started throwing off his jacket and shirt. She stripped down, only keeping her promise ring on that she'd kept over all these years.

"I've waited three years for this day," she purred in his ear. He groaned and kissed her hard. He laid her down on the bed and moved over her. Christine wrapped her limbs around him and ran her hands down his smooth back. "I love you still, my Erik, now more than ever before," she whispered in his ear before meeting his lips again with hers.

"I love you too angel," he said in between kisses.

They made love for the first time in three years and proceeded to do so all night long until they were both too exhausted to move. Erik had a tired smile on his lips and mumbled, "This was worth the wait."

Christine, slick with sweat and cuddled right up against him whispered back longingly, "You have no idea."


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9: Reunions**

Christine awoke the next morning to Erik's alarm clock, which was going off at the ungodly hour of five o'clock. She groaned and got rolled over onto her back as Erik reached over to smack it. He was right on top of her and she couldn't help but giggle tiredly. "It's nice to know this wasn't a dream, but not this early in the morning," he yawned out as he kissed her lazily.

"Mm good morning to you too," Christine chuckled.

"I'm sorry love, I have class." He kissed her again. "Go back to sleep."

"Mm," she yawned. "Music appreciation isn't for another two hours. What class could you possibly have now?"

"My bullshit business class. It's my cover so I can go here."

"My Erik, why do you need a cover?" she inquired, sitting up without covering herself with the sheet.

He went to explain but the words fell off his lips as he stared at her body, "Um…"

"I would recommend explaining yourself," she smirked slyly at him. "Why is it you need two majors when we both know you hate business with a passion."

"Hmm?" He didn't look away from her chest.

"Oh," she followed his eyes and looked down. She started laughing hard and wrapped her arms around him. "Do you see something you like…? Perhaps it wouldn't be such a horrible thing if you were late to your first class."

He kissed her and groaned, "I wish...but my father knows my professor."

"Well," she purred in his ear, pressing her body up against his. "That is a shame."

"Mmm no… No, no." He reluctantly stood up. "You little minx."

She giggled hard and flopped back onto the bed. "Fine, fine, but you did this to yourself." She suddenly started to laugh harder. "Oh my god, you just chose your father over me."

"No I didn't!" He groaned. "I want to stay… I just can't. This is what I need to do so we can be together, forever." He caressed the promise ring she still wore.

She smiled and sat up again. Passionately, she brought his lips back down to hers and kissed him until he felt weak. "Mm, go," she murmured. "You have my number, call me when you get done with your classes and we can go out to dinner."

He grinned and got dressed. "There's plenty of food in the kitchen. Help yourself! I love you!" He hurried off to get to school.

They were both busy for the entire day, Christine got settled into her dorm and Erik had yet another exhausting day of trying to meet his credit hour requirements for both majors. However, to his delight, he discovered that they both had musical theatre at the end of the day together where they could sing, play instruments, and build the set for the upcoming musical. The musical was a surprise, in fact, the class itself was more of an after school activity than a credit hour. While painting a prop Christine chatted happily with Erik.

"So what do you think the musical is going to be this year?" she asked pleasantly.

"I don't know. Hopefully something classic, I am not a fan of modern musicals."

She rolled her eyes and chuckled, "Such a cynic. You're here to tell me you don't enjoy the works of Les Miserables, Rent, or Evita? Nothing like that?"

"No, not particularly. I would prefer the classics: Carousel, Oklahoma, Pirates of Penzance…" He shrugged.

"Hmm," she smirked. "I suppose I can deem that as acceptable." She got up and kissed his head. She had paint on her cheek and went on to painting an elephant. "Although from the props," she thought for a moment, "perhaps we are doing Hamlet?"

"Mmm unless they made Moulin Rouge into a stage musical." He chuckles. "We could be lovers."

Christine giggled, "You just want an excuse to kiss me on stage."

"I don't need an excuse to do that." He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. They stumbled behind the elephant and continued kissing until Christine pulled back.

"Mm would you like to go see a musical with me this weekend?" she asked breathily. Her lips were swollen from their kissing and her cheeks were blushed.

He didn't stop kissing her, "Mmm sure, whatever you want." Christine smirked broadly and dragged his lips down his throat, pressing him up against the wall behind the curtains. No one seemed to notice them at all, or if they did, they didn't care.

He grinned as he kissed her. They heard the teacher let them know class was over. "Mmm… Let's get going."

"Uh huh," she whispered, but she didn't stop kissing him. Her hand grazed up against his crotch. He jumped in shock. He was still pretty shy.

"Later," he growled playfully. Him jumping made her giggle hard.

"You need to relax and let go every once and awhile," she purred.

"Not in public…" He took her hand and pulled her out of the theater. Christine only laughed harder and walked with him happily. She loved how shy he was and kissed his cheek. She just loved him so much.

"So, I hope you don't have too much homework tonight," she stated suggestively.

"I don't think I have much but I do need to meet with Nadir. He's been taking me on runs every day."

"I was wondering how you got those lovely abs," she giggled. "Very well, but after that run you belong to me. Understood?"

"Yes ma'am." He chuckled. "You should just stay with me. I have a feeling we won't be apart much."

"You know I couldn't do that to Meg," she sighed. "At least not right now."

He pouted adorably and took her hands, "Please? It's so lonely in that big apartment…"

"Oh my god, you spoiled brat. When the hell did you learn to make that face? That is so unfair," she growled and rolled her eyes. "Damn you, fine! I will move my things into your apartment and become your problem, but I will do it as spitefully as I possibly can." She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips with a façade of stubbornness. It was easy to see that she wasn't heartbroken about rooming with him.

He grinned and kissed her nose. "Go and pack. I'll come by after my run and help you move your things."

"At least with this move there won't be tears," she smiled, but the memory still stung at the back of her mind. She kissed him one last time. "Go see Nadir, I'll see you later."

"I love you!" He waved at her as he hurried off.

"Love you too!" She went off to her dorm for a much needed discussion with Meg.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: Remembering**

Christine got to the apartment to find Meg still doing her usual dancing around to the music playing from her headphones. She smiled to herself, it was nice to see her so carefree. She grinned and sat down on her bed while Meg took out her headphones.

"Hey," Meg said cheerily.

"Hey, Meg," Christine sighed. "We need to talk."

She frowned and sat down on the floor. "What is it?"

"I know what happened. I remember everything and I know you do too," she stated firmly.

She pretended she didn't understand, "What are you talking about…?"

"Don't play dumb with me," Christine got up and took her hands. "I know exactly what happened, Meg. It's okay; I promise that it's okay. I know Nadir remembers too: our past, our second chance."

"I don't want to think about it..." She looked away. "I thought I was the only one that knew."

"We have to talk about it, Meg," she whispered and squeezed her hand. "You were, and still are, my best friend. We need to talk about why we're here and why on earth my Erik… Doesn't remember."

"He doesn't remember? At all? I thought that's why you two were together…"

"No… I didn't recall the opera house incident until I was in Sweden again," she sighed. "I was with him because I sincerely loved him and that connection from the past was still strong into now…" In Sweden, one beautiful sunny day, she had remembered who she was over a hundred years ago. She was Christine Daaé, soprano, prima donna, and victim to the strange affair of the phantom of the opera. That day had been so terribly distraught for her. "I just need to talk about it with someone. It's still terribly taxing on my mind."

"We've been given a second chance...I remembered during a dance recital. It didn't go very well…I'm sure Erik will remember in time."

"Yeah," she sighed shakily. "I guess… But what if he doesn't Meg? Then again, what if he does and he hates me… Erik and I didn't exactly see eye to eye back then."

"He could never hate you and you know that. He loved you even when it didn't seem like it."

"I know, Meg… But things got especially delicate when I left with Raoul of all people… And he bullied Erik in high school... Who's to say he won't take different memories and hate me?" Christine put her face in her hands. "I just don't want to lose him…"

"Christine. You don't need to worry. He loves you and he won't let anyone get between you two this time around," Meg reassured her.

Christine bit her lip and hugged her tightly. She really needed to hear those words from someone who understood her situation.

"Alright, now let's go! I know about a party happening!"

"I-I can't actually," she mumbled guiltily. "Erik begged me to move into his apartment and damn that man for his charm, I agreed. I'm so sorry, Meg. If you don't want me to move out, I don't have to."

"Oh...okay. I get it. I'll just see you around I guess…" She grabbed her bag and left quickly.

"M-Meg, wait!" Christine cried and quickly went after her. Meg hurried off so they didn't have to talk. She was upset. Christine groaned and went back into her room. She sat down on the bed and didn't pack; instead she put her head in her hands and waited for Erik to get back.

He showed up, dressed nicely again. "My love! The key to my heart!" He held out a set of house keys for her. "I cleared out a dresser and closet for you!"

"Shit, neither of you are making this easy for me," she said shakily. She looked up at him brokenly and took the keys slowly. "Meg w-wasn't too happy about me moving out. I-I don't know what to do, Erik."

"She'll be okay. We're in love, it's important."

"But she cried and ran away… She was really upset," she sounded so guilty.

"Baby...it'll be okay. She'll understand," he tried to reassure her. Christine pulled him down onto her bed and hugged him tightly. This day had been stressful because she didn't want to hurt anyone. That's all she felt like she did in her past… And now she felt the need to be perfect all the time. "If I move in with you, I hurt Meg… If I don't move in with you, then I hurt you…" she groaned and buried her face against his chest. "At this point, can I live on the streets as a hobo?"

"Maybe I asked you too soon...we haven't been together very long."

"N-no! You didn't ask me too soon!" She shook her head. "I want this… God, I've wanted this for a very long time, but I don't want to hurt anybody." She just felt so bad. She had brought up that painful subject with Meg and then dropped this bomb on her. "I just wish there was a way I could make everybody happy…"

"Well...maybe she could move in too?"

"I-I could ask her… God you're the best," she whispered and kissed him deeply.

Erik kissed her back and smiled. "As you saw, there are a few extra rooms. I was thinking about asking Nadir to move in too."

"You're incredible… You have made me so, so happy," she whispered lovingly.

He smirked broadly. "Now… Can we have sex now? I've been very patient today," he trailed off.

"Fuck. Yes," she growled and pinned him to the bed. "You deserve it after all you've done for me today."

He grinned up at her. "I've been a good boy today."

"Mm… I'll agree to that, my Erik," she said smugly and pulled off her shirt. She leaned down and kissed him roughly. Just as they were getting into it, the door opened and Meg was standing there.

"Oh… S-sorry," she stammered. "I umm forgot the keys." She turned around to leave, not even grabbing the keys. Erik blushed hard and Christine didn't even care. She had straddled Erik's hips and just sat there now with her shirt still off.

"Hey Meggles, do you wanna move in with Erik and I? We're inviting Nadir as well," Christine inquired nonchalantly. She had relaxed now that she was with Erik.

Meg looked up in surprise, "Really? Is it that big of an apartment for four people?"

Erik awkwardly tried to fix his clothes, "Um yeah. It's got three bedrooms."

"See? That way we can all stick together," Christine sounded very pleased.

"Well, okay." Meg grinned. "That sounds great."

Christine cleared her throat and glanced back down at Erik. "Anyway… Umm if you'll excuse us," she said finally with some shyness to her voice.

Meg pouted, "Aw Chrissy I wanted to start packing!"

"Well dammit, you're going to have to wait about… An hour," she smirked down at Erik. "Yeah, an hour sounds about right."

"Go back to Erik's and you won't have a time limit!" She huffed.

"Oh my goddddd!" Christine groaned. "Meg, for the love of god! I guarantee that I won't make it to his place, so pleasseee! Just. Go. For. A. Walk.'

"Ugh, fine!" She turned to go, "It's gonna smell, open a window." She hurried off and Erik quickly undressed them.

"Finally," Christine growled and straddled his hips again. She ran her hands down his chest and kissed him deeply.

He kissed her back, "Mmm do you have do you a condom?"

"Mm yeah…" She quickly dug one out of her bedside table. She wasted no time ripping open the package and slipping it onto him. "Apparently we need to be quick about this. I don't want to be interrupted again."

"That's fine, I don't want to wait." He quickly pulled her close and kissed her hard again. Christine grabbed his length and slipped it inside her without much warning to Erik. She didn't want to wait any longer either. She placed her hands on his chest to steady herself and slowly began to rock her hips against him. Erik moaned and held on to her hips. Soon enough, they moved together in a rhythm that felt perfect, it was fast and rough. They didn't care that their chorus of moans could be heard out in the hallway.

"Mmm I love you! So much!" He pushed his hips up to meet hers.

"Oh!" Christine cried out. "Fuck, I-I love you too!" She whimpered and bucked her hips erratically as her climax drew closer.

"D-Don't stop!" He held her hips tighter. He was so close.

She let out a sweet cry as she met her peak of pleasure and shuddered hard. "ERIK!" Christine cried out his name loudly and collapsed onto his chest. Erik cried out with her and panted heavily after their mutual climax.

"Mm so good…" he mumbled.

"Mhmm," she sighed and curled up on his chest. "You've had two good workouts today."

"Love you…" He holds her close.

"I love you too," she said in content and speckled kisses on his jaw. "Christ, I don't know if I can do more physical activity after that." She laughed tiredly and yanked the blankets over their entwined bodies.

He yawned and held her on the tiny bed, "Mm, nap time."

"Just for a bit," Christine chided. "Meg will be back soon and we don't want her to see us both bare ass on the bed."

"Who cares?" Erik sighed happily and fell asleep with her in his arms. He had buried his face within her golden curls, breathing in their sweet scent.

While he was sleeping, Christine stayed awake. She moved slightly and ran her hand across his jaw. "Sleep well, my angel of music," she whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: Moving day**

The next day, Erik had asked Nadir to move in with them and the trio of college students vacated their dorms to go live with Erik. They filled out paperwork in the college's office in order to move and afterwards went out to dinner together. As they were all seated around the table, Christine had a warming feeling inside her. She hadn't been this content in a long time. Erik had insisted on the going to an upscale restaurant and payed for their meals. He wanted them to be happy and using his money was the only way he knew how to do that. That's how his parents were while he grew up. They had given him things and money hoping it would be good enough for their constant absence in his life.

After their meal, Christine took Erik's hand underneath the table and kissed his cheek. "I don't think I've ever been so happy now that I have you back in my life," she crooned lovingly.

He grinned and kissed her. "I can say the same, my dear." He looked over at Meg and Nadir. "So, what do you say we ditch this snooty place and go get drunk?"

"Thought you'd never ask," Nadir laughed in relief. They got in a cab and went to Nadir's favorite bar that so happened to be a club that allowed underage college students. Erik had grown more comfortable in his skin and didn't seem to mind the crowds so much.

When they had a few drinks in them, Christine turned to Erik. "Care to dance with me?" Erik grinned and eagerly took her hand out to the dance floor. They laughed and kept their bodies close to each other. The music was a lot faster than Christine was used to, but she just went with it. She was tipsy and just didn't care, going with whatever rhythm Erik created. They looked over at one point to see Nadir dancing with Meg. Erik smirked and pointed them out to Christine.

"Excellent," she giggled. "Now Nadir owes me fifty bucks for saying he wouldn't end up with Meg."

"They're not together, they're just dancing."

"Oh right because grinding on each other doesn't lead to anything afterwards."

Erik laughed and kissed her. Her words had got him to thinking. "Let's get out of here."

"Mm if you say so," she said smugly and ran out of there with him. They hadn't even bothered to tell Meg and Nadir that they were leaving. When they got outside, bursting with drunken laughter, all seemed well. However, halfway to Erik's apartment, Christine froze in the middle of the sidewalk suddenly.

Erik sobered up a bit when she stopped giggling and looked over at her. "Christine? What is it?"

She was staring at someone down the street; there was a distant look in her eyes. She took his hand firmly. Christine finally snapped out of it and shook her head. "W-we should keep moving," she trailed off.

He frowned at her, "Love, what is it?"

Christine dragged him along the sidewalk, really wanting to get out of there. "It's nothing, my Erik," she murmured. "Just thought I saw something."

"What did you see?"

She waited until they were a ways away to answer him. "Remember Raoul?" Christine knew that was a stupid question. She couldn't even imagine the hell Raoul put him through after she left for Sweden.

His frown deepened. "Yes… Why?"

"Most unfortunately, I saw him," she grumbled.

"What? Why is he here?" he groaned.

"A cruel irony," she mumbled to herself.

He frowned and hurried the back home, but the mood had been killed. Christine was really anxious and wrapped her arms around him when they got home. Erik hugged her close. "Christine… I have something to tell you," he breathed out.

"Hmm?" she sighed against him.

"I know who attacked me freshman year…"

"Yeah… I figured out who it was, from the way you acted around him."

"I didn't know until high school was over," Erik trailed off.

Christine shook her head. "He won't bother us anymore. Don't let him get to you. I should have said anything when I saw her.

"If that bastard touches you again, I'll snap his neck with a Punjab lasso." She was awfully specific.

He made a face at her. "A what?"

Christine laughed softly, "Nothing, nothing. Let's go to bed, hmm? First official night in our first home."

"Yes, please." Erik changed and crawled into bed with her. "You can redecorate if you want."

"I'll probably just unpack and place a few of my pictures, but I won't make many changes," she yawned and cuddled up against him.

"Do whatever you want, baby." He held her as they both fell asleep.

That night, Christine had dreams of the past and of Erik. She woke up with a jolt and in a sweat after she'd heard Erik's cry of agony after she'd left his lair.

Erik's eyes opened partly, "Mmm baby are you okay?"

"Y-yeah," she panted out, placing a hand on her forehead. "G-go back to sleep…"

He pulled her down into his arms, "Shh, sleep…" Erik could feel her heart racing against his chest and didn't see the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. In order to calm her down, He hummed comfortingly to her.

Christine whispered to him, "I love you, my Erik." She closed her eyes tightly and tried to go back to sleep again.

"I love you too." He easily fell back to sleep.

The next day was Saturday and they were all off, which gave them all time to sober up. Christine laid on the couch with Meg and they had a movie on quietly while they were dealing with their hangovers.

"Did you and Nadir have fun last night?" Christine asked and rubbed her aching head.

Meg couldn't help but smile to herself. "Yeah...I did."

"Did you do the dance with no pants?" She smirked and waggled her eyebrows.

She blushed, "No! He...He said he wants to get to know me first."

"Well, that's nice too," she chuckled

"I really like him…" She looked down at her hands.

"You two are adorable together," Christine sighed and closed her eyes again.

"Are you okay?" She frowned.

"The booze isn't what's killing me," she murmured. "I had dreams about the past last night…"

"Oh...what about?" Just as Christine was about to tell her, Erik walked in sleepily with just sweat pants on and curled up with his head on her lap.

"Mmm… S'early…"

"Oh my poor hungover baby," she giggled and stroked his hair back. At hearing her master awake, Ayesha came running over and hopped onto the couch with them.

He took her into his arms, "Mm hello, my princess."

"Your princess?" Christine gawked. "Don't make me regret getting you that damn cat." She laughed softly and stroked the cat's head instead of his.

"Yes, indeed. She is my princess." He sat up and brought Ayesha into the kitchen and fed her canned food into a crystal dish.

"Good god," Christine groaned and then laughed. "He treats the cat like damn royalty."

Meg looked over at her and smirked, "Nothing's changed."

"I know," she giggled. "That damn cat."

Erik called out from the kitchen, "Nadir's still asleep?"

"Uh huh, he had a lot to drink last night," Meg called back.

"Wake his ass up, I want breakfast."

Meg and Christine played rock, paper, and scissors in order to see who would go wake up Nadir. Christine was the one who ended up having to do the dirty deed and decided to just make breakfast herself. She fried eggs, bacon, and sausage so they could cure their hangovers.

Erik smiled and nuzzled against her, "Mmm you are perfect."

"I know," she smirked and smacked his ass before setting the table.

Erik sat down and started to eat, he was starving. Nadir grumbled and sat at the table with his eyes still closed.

Meg laughed softly, "Rough morning, babe?" Nadir just grunted and ate his food blindly. The three laughed at him and ate quietly as to help his headache.

"Up for a run later Nadir?" Erik smirked.

"Fuck off Erik."

"Oh hush, Erik," Christine chided and sent him a mischievous grin. "You know he feels like ass. Besides I was hoping today could belong to us since we haven't really had a full day to ourselves."

"What do you have in mind, baby?"

"A Broadway musical," she smirked and Meg shot her a warning look. "I was thinking of going to see Beauty and the Beast and then go to dinner afterwards. I have been told that New York pizza is a must have."

"Indeed it is! I know a great place."

"Perfect," she got up and kissed him happily before putting the dishes away.

They all sat around for a few hours before Erik and Christine got ready to go to the show. Christine wanted it to be pretty casual since they were both feeling poorly and lazy. She got dressed in a nice sweater and jeans, yanking her tangle of curls into a ponytail.

Erik got dressed in his usual, all black attire. "Ready, babe?"

"Mm you look hot," she chuckled. "I'm glad we're doing this."

"Me too." He smiled and took her hand. They headed their way to the theater.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: The musical**

The two went to Palace Theatre and Christine hummed Disney tunes excitedly. She had her hand in Erik's and she grinned up at him. "You're not too disappointed that I chose a modern musical?"

"I actually find the subject quite enjoyable." He winked at her.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" she asked hesitantly.

"The beast gets the beauty." He squeezed her hand, "Sounds familiar."

"Oh hush," she said sheepishly and pulled him close. "You are perfect… Absolutely perfect."

"Nonsense." They got in their seats and Erik looked up at the stage. "Are you excited to start performing?"

"Me? Perform here?" she giggled. "Yeah right."

"I could see you up there."

"I doubt I could ever make it up there."

"Of course you could, and you will." He smiles at her.

"You always believed in me," she purred to herself.

"Can't help it." The lights went down and the show started. Erik looked eagerly towards the stage.

Christine had thought this would be a good idea, but the plot line of the musical had gotten her to thinking about their past and she had turn awfully pale.

Erik looked over at her and whispered, "Christine are you okay? She just nodded and closed her eyes. She couldn't find her voice.

"Let's get you some air…" He helped her out of her seat and to the lobby.

"N-no I'm okay," she murmured, but went out with him anyway. She was panting softly and ran a hand across her forehead.

"Christine you don't look good. Let's get you home."

"I-I'm fine, Erik," she sighed. "I just need a minute…"

"I'll get you some water…" He went over to the concession stand.

While he was gone, Christine sat down and felt tremors wracking her body. This is what usually happened when she recalled the past. It was much worse when she first remembered, in fact; she had actually fainted that day. "Of course this had to happen now," she growled to herself. She placed her hand on her forehead to try and calm herself down, as memories flashed before her eyes. She hoped Erik would take a little longer because she felt ill.

Erik had to hunt down someone to buy some water. It took him a good ten minutes before he came back to her, "Sorry it took so long. Here you go." Christine didn't look much better when he got back. She gotten paler and her hands shook as she took the water.

"Thank you, my Erik," she breathed out.

"Christine...let me take you home. You're pale."

"I'm sure there's nothing wrong," she sighed and took a long drink. "I'll be alright. I don't want to ruin our evening."

"Nonsense. Maybe you should lie down. We could put in a movie and lay in bed."

"I-I guess," she murmured in disappointment. She knew that once the memories hit, then they'd be hitting all day long. She should've known better after the dream she had last night, to stay in today.

They got in a cab and headed home. Erik was worried about her and kept trying to figure out her symptoms. When they got back he made her lay in bed and continued asking what she needed.

"Love, I'm okay, really I am," Christine stated tiredly. "Come and lay down with me." He nodded and got into bed with her.

"What do you want to watch?"

"I don't care, I'm probably gonna sleep or something," she yawned.

"Okay." He put on a random movie and held her. He laughed every so often, he was so happy with her even though she wasn't feeling great. They laid together and Christine fell asleep, but it didn't help her get any better. Erik noticed that even as she "peacefully" slept, she got to a ghostly white and trembled in his arms. She was having horrible nightmares.

Erik had put on some music, hoping it would calm her in her. He tried to go to sleep but he was still worried about her. They were like that for a while; Meg peeked her head through the door and frowned.

"Hey… Thought you'd guys weren't gonna get back until later," she murmured. "Everything okay?"

Erik whispered back, "She's not feeling well. She got really pale during the show."

"Oh," she didn't seem too worried about it, figuring out what was wrong immediately. "I'm sure she's fine."

"I don't know...maybe she should see a doctor…"

Meg just chuckled, "Really, Erik, she's okay. Just let her sleep." She left the room. Her attitude about her best friend being sick was odd. Erik frowned to himself and ended up eventually falling asleep as well.

The next morning, he woke up just as the sun rose since they had gone to bed so early and in his arms, Christine looked so much better. He smiled and kissed her forehead before silently getting up to make breakfast. The other three took awhile to get up since it was Sunday, but Christine was the first to enter the kitchen. She looked perfectly fine too, as if nothing had happened yesterday. Erik was already dressed and ready to go for the day. He smiled at her when she got up.

"Hey baby! How are you feeling?"

She answered him cheerily, "Much better, thank you! What are you cooking?"

"French toast, I hope you're hungry. It's all ready and there's coffee too." He grabbed his bag.

"That sounds good," she smiled and sat down at the table. She was curious though as to why he was digging in his bag, hoping he wasn't going to leave today. However to her disappointment, he slung the bag over his shoulder and slipped on his shoes. "Wh-where are you going, babe?"

"Church!" He came over and kissed her, "I'll see you at noon!" He quickly left and Nadir rolled his eyes as he sat down for breakfast.

"I don't know how he gets up this early on a Sunday."

"What the fuck?" Christine snapped. "Erik Destler, the phantom of the opera, the feared opera ghost, and angel of death… Goes to church?!"

Nadir grunted and ate some bacon, "He sings in the choir."

"Dammit that makes sense," she grumbled and munched on her toast. "And damn him if I don't love him even more for it."

Meg sat beside her, "It's actually very beautiful. Maybe we should all go next Sunday."

"I would love that," Christine grinned and leaned against her. "Especially if I get to hear him sing…"

"You know, I never did before...like in the past." She frowned at her plate. "Except at his opera, but that's not the same."

"It's unlike anything in this entire world. It's like that feeling you get when you're about to fall asleep… That feeling of being wrapped up in warmth and comfort," she purred. "Like falling in love and being cared for."

Nadir and Meg looked at one another and burst out laughing. "Damn Chris, when's the last time you two had sex?" Nadir teased.

"Fuck you," Christine growled, blushing furiously and got up. "You have no idea what it's like for him to look at me and not see me the way you look at Meg. He has no idea who I really am, asshole. Excuse me for missing the love of my life." She shook with rage and stomped out of the room.

They both watched her walk away and Meg sighed, "I'll go talk to her…" She knocked on her door. "Chrissy?"

"What?" she groaned from the other side of the door.

"Can I come in?"

"It's opened," she mumbled. She was sitting on her and Erik's bed, hugging his pillow.

She sat beside him, "Chrissy...You know Erik is madly in love with you, even if he doesn't remember the past."

"It's not Erik that's bothering me," Christine said sadly. "It's just me."

She frowned, "What do you mean?"

"It's the memories," she whispered. "They're what warm you up from the inside… But they're also what tear you apart."

"You're letting them… You have to appreciate what you have now and try to let go of the past. Erik loves you and he's here for you… You two finally can be together just focus on that. You'll have the life you have always wanted."

"Yeah," she whispered and rubbed her face. "I know… I know, I should be happy and I should be grateful! It's just hard when in the back of my mind I'm in the past, and then I have to focus on the present. Sometimes I see him as my opera ghost and then it fades back into h-him… This perfect guy. God he's fucking perfect. I don't understand why this keeps happening, Meg."

"You don't want him to be perfect?"

"N-no, I do… But I just don't get it. You two don't get sick when you think of the past. Why is it Erik has no idea who he is and anytime I get a "painful" reminder, I'm comatose for the whole day?" Christine snapped.

"I don't know…" She mumbled and looked away.

"I just wish we'd both have a normal relationship for once," she sighed.

"As far as he knows, it is normal."

"Yeah," she mumbled. "Look, I think I'm gonna search for a job or internship at the university or around town. I need a good distraction for today." She got up from her bed.

"Okay…" Meg got up and went to finish her breakfast. Christine got dressed and went to the university, applying for a job at the library. Erik called her after church.

"Hey baby! Want to go to lunch?"

"Yeah, honey, I'm at the college," she sounded tired. These past two days were really taxing on her. "Wanna meet up at the diner on campus?"

"Yeah, I'll meet you there!" Erik was there a few minutes later and was all smiles.

She raised her eyebrows and chuckled at him. "How was church, my Erik?"

He kisses her, "Great! I had a solo." He grins and sits across from her.

"I was thinking that next Sunday I could go see you sing, Meg and Nadir wanna come too," she said with a façade of cheeriness. She didn't want to seem tired in front of him.

"That would be great! Father Andre is a very good man." He opened a menu. He visibly saw her shudder at that name.

"F-father… Andre, you said?" she stammered.

"Hm? Yes. Do you know him?"

"Umm," she cleared her throat. "The name is familiar."

"It's a pretty common name love. I think I'll get a chicken salad."

"Not as common as you would think," she grumbled to herself and then nodded. "I think I'll have the same." The waitress came over and Erik ordered for them. He sipped his water and smiled at her.

"So, what did you do today?"

"I applied for a job today," she smiled slightly. "Figured it'd help with my citizenship and give me something else to do."

"Oh? Where at?"

"The college library. They needed people to help out with college funds. My inheritance can't cover it all."

"Your inheritance?"

"W-well… Yeah? I mean I told you my dad was dead before I left for Sweden…" she tilted her head. "I have about thirty thousand dollars to my name." Christine didn't mind talking about it; she was used to her dad being gone at this point.

"Oh...you never said. You said you didn't have much as a kid."

"Sure I saw that and I said it was because of my foster home. We never really had too much money to have really nice things, but I didn't mind. Best life I could ask for," she said nonchalantly. "I'd rather be in a home like that, then not have any home at all."

"Yes, I understand." Their food came and Erik ate eagerly. The subject of Christine's dad churned her stomach a little and she picked at her food.

"I'm sorry...I didn't mean to upset you."

"Hmm? Oh it doesn't bother me," she gave him a little smile and shrugged. "It's just a bit of a sore subject."

"Yes… So, tomorrow is Monday. What classes do you have?"

"Oh the usual shit," she shrugged. "Music theory, appreciation, and then the basic shit like math and composition. Then of course at the end of the day we both have theatre together."

"Well I probably won't see you until theatre. I have all of my business classes in the morning."

"Yeah that's what I figured," she sighed. "It's okay, I'm just glad I get to see you at the end of the day." Christine took his hand from across the table. He smiled and kissed her hands.

"I love you so much," Erik sighed happily.

"I love you too, babe." She leaned over and kissed him. He smiled against her lips. He was inconceivably in love with her.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13: Cruel irony**

Christine and Erik spent everyday together. No matter how much time they spent together, it never seemed to be enough. Nadir, Meg, and Christine went to see Erik in the church choir that next Sunday and Christine made sure to go every Sunday after that. The four of them got to be even closer than they were over a hundred years ago and Christine slowly began to get over her memories. At least… She was beginning to.

During theatre, they were finishing up the props and Christine got a very bad feeling about everything and how familiar it all looked. "Oh god," she murmured when she saw the costumes. "Oh god, oh god, oh god, no." There was a white mask being held up by the professor and the students starting laughing.

"Well ladies and gents, I decided to have a little fun this year and turn our little stage into a much tinier version of Majestic. We are doing Phantom of the Opera for our opening musical this year," Professor Firmin stated proudly. Everyone seemed rather excited except Christine and Erik.

Erik had never liked the show...it hit a little too close to home so he had all but forgotten about it until now. He sat down next to Christine, "Wouldn't it be funny if we were both the leads?"

"Oh believe me," Christine growled. "We probably will."

"Now that I think about it...there are some similarities."

"It's best if you don't think about it. I fucking hate Andrew Lloyd Webber," she hissed.

Erik chuckled, "Why such hostility?"

"Because him and Leroux are nosy little cock suckers who need to mind their own goddamn business," she snapped and stomped off.

Erik looked over at her in shock. "Tell us how you really feel Christine."

She sighed and shook her head. "Sorry I just… Hate that storyline a lot."

"Why?" he questioned. "It's just a story."

"Because I think it's real… A little bit, and I think it's really, really sad." Erik gave her a look and turned his gaze back to the teacher. He didn't want to upset her by saying anything. "What?" Christine murmured and when he didn't answer her, she spoke again. "No, no, what were you gonna say?"

Erik sighed, "Let's talk about this later."

She frowned deeply and got really anxious about that. After class, Christine walked up to him. "What is it?"

"You're just being ridiculous. It's just a show." He started heading to the train.

"Excuse me?" she chuckled irritably and followed him closely. "Do I not have the right to my own opinion, Mr. I don't like modern musicals?"

"Sure you can, but you don't need to despise the people who are trying to make a living just like the rest of us. Weather you like it or not, this musical has been running longer than any here. You have to have some kind of respect for that at least."

"I have no respect for that nosy man! He should've been minding his own business," she growled lowly. "He shouldn't have been anywhere near that opera house even if he was a reporter. After that chandelier crashed, he just wouldn't let it alone."

"You're being insane! It's just a story!" He got on the train and sat down next to her.

"You're being kind of an ass, Erik," she narrowed her eyes at him. "Why can't you just accept the fact that I don't like it, hmm? It's not hurting you at all."

"Because you don't have any valid reasons! Do you know how hard it is to make it in this business? They found a story that could work for them, so they used it!" Some of the people were starting to look at them in the car.

Christine gave them a "mind your own business look" and glared up at Erik. "You have no idea, Erik. If you had any idea the personal connection I have to this story, then you wouldn't be saying this. Yeah, yeah it's a famous story, but I don't like it. I don't like it because it hits too damn close to home."

"HOW?!" He shakes his head and marches out of their train station and to the house. "Because you have the same name as the girl? That's ridiculous! I have the same name as the murdering lunatic but you don't see me crying over it!" They got in the elevator in their building.

"HE'S NOT A MURDERING LUNATIC!" She hissed at him, but Christine suddenly stopped her arguing when she saw it: that familiar look in his eyes. That enraged, fiery, fierce look her Erik would get… She felt her heart race and she suddenly pinned him up against the wall, kissing him roughly.

Erik was going to argue back but he gasped in surprise when she kissed him. He kissed her back, giving in to his desires. He would never deny her lips. The elevator stopped at their floor and he dragged her inside to his room where he quickly laid her on the bed. Christine didn't say anything more and nearly tore his clothes off. They had vaguely heard Nadir and Meg laughing at them as they stumbled into his room. They made love quickly and roughly, not sparing any desires.

After, Erik held her in his arms and smirked to himself tiredly. "That was good."

"You're so goddamn sexy when you're mad…" she moaned.

"Hmm, I don't like fighting with you but the sex was great," he chuckled tiredly. His breathing started to deepen and in minutes he was asleep.

Christine kissed his forehead and pulled on one of his shirts, going out to face the two roommates who were right outside the door. She needed to have an 1890's chat with them.

They were both on the couch, surprisingly close to one another but quickly pulled apart when she came in, "Oh, hey." Meg smirked.

"Hey losers," Christine grinned and plopped down on the couch with them. "I hope I'm not interrupting."

"Nope. You have fun?"

"Hell yeah," she sighed in delight. "We got into this huge blowout fight and I saw that old spark of my old Erik. It got me so hot…" She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Umm, anyway, it turns out the opening musical this year is Phantom and I blew up."

They both stared at her in shock. "He doesn't think it's weird that you're performing that though?"

"Nope, in fact, he defended it the entire time," she chuckled. "Ironic right?"

"Wow. He's gonna regret that one day."

"Right? I called Webber and Leroux a… Oh what was it?" Christine laughed hard. "Oh right, nosy little cock suckers who needed to mind their own goddamn business."

Nadir and Meg both laughed with her. "So, you saw a spark of him?"

"Hell. Yes. You know that flaming look he'd get in his eyes when he was about to really lose it? That's my old Erik right in my perfect one. He's sexy as hell," she purred.

"Be careful...it might be bad if he remembers."

"I completely agree," she sighed. "This musical is gonna be a complete wreck for us all. He's going to remember… H-he has to after all this. We're both going to get the lead, that's obvious."

"That makes sense…" Meg agreed.

Erik came in and curled up against her. "Mmm hi."

"Hey, cutie," she giggled and kissed all over his face. "Goddamn I love you so much with your sex hair."

"Mm love you too," he mumbled tiredly. He had been up at 5 a.m. that day and went to five classes.

Christine giggled and leaned down, kissing him upside down. "Mm saw that out of Spiderman once. I always to try it, my tired boy."

"Come back to bedddd," he whined playfully. It was only almost six in the afternoon.

"Fine, fine," she smirked. "Good evening, you two. Go back to whatever it is you were doing." Christine got up and dragged Erik back to bed despite the time and snuggled with him.

Erik curled up with her and smiled as he closed his eyes. "Mm, you're so comfortable."

"Mhmm," Christine sighed and kissed his forehead. "Goodnight, my Erik."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: Anger management**

As the auditions for the musical began, people were really surprised at how Christine was perfect for the leading female role. She knew how to walk, talk, sing, and act like well… Her old self. The surprising part was because she still made it no secret that she hated this musical. However, she used it as a way to get Erik angry.

That was the only reason why she auditioned for the part of her old self, just to be with Erik one final time before she let go of the past forever since he so easily got the leading male role. So until then, Christine enjoyed to make Erik so incredibly furious that he would have that old flicker in his eyes, which inevitably led to the two of them engaging in rough, angry, passionate sex. Christine considered it a bad habit, and only did it on a few occasions. She didn't particularly like going out of her way to make him angry, but she craved that spark in his eyes.

As rehearsals began, Christine got paler, sicker. In fact, during the final lair scene, she nearly fainted. She was starting to realize what a bad, bad idea this was. Erik rushed to her side and she jumped when she was shaken from reality into the past, staring at him in his evening garb and her eyes slowly tracing the false deformities they'd made for him.

"Christine? Are you alright?" He placed her head in his lap. "Someone get her some water!"

"Mm hi…" she sighed and cupped his cheeks. "You look sexy."

"Christine, what happened?" he frowned in worry.

"Hmm? Oh the thought of me going off with Raoul really made me sick to my stomach," she said deliriously.

One of the stagehands piped up as he handed her a bottle of water, "I think she's just dehydrated."

Erik picked her up and sat her down in a chair. He brushed her hair back. "You need to stay hydrated," he scolded gently.

She frowned slightly and looked around, reality was leaking back through. "Y-yeah… I think it didn't help that last night, we went out with Meg and Nadir for drinks. S-sorry, Erik," Christine murmured.

"Stay here, okay? We'll just rehearse another scene."

"N-no, no I'm okay. We should just keep practicing so I can get back on my feet," she muttered.

He frowned in worry, "Are you sure? You look pale…"

"Yeah I'm sure, babe." She stood up shakily with Erik's help and took another drink of water, wishing it was alcohol.

"Okay," Erik didn't sound so sure.

She graced him with a reassuring kiss and wrapped her arms around him "I just… That last scene… It's just hard for me and I'm not going to curse the musical and argue about it, I'm going to be straight forward." She took a deep breath and looked down. "When Christine leaves Erik… And he let's out that heartbreaking scream… It destroys me because you love me as much as Erik loved Christine, right? It makes me feel like scum."

"Yes," Erik trailed off. "I understand that, but you need to remember this is just acting. Don't let it consume you that much."

"Hmm? Oh no, I'm sure I was just dehydrated." she tried to play it off nonchalantly.

"Alright well… Let's take it from the top!" he ordered and got back into place.

"Great," Christine grumbled and closed her eyes. She remembered all those old feelings… Of anger and fear and they started the final scene together.

People were absolutely mesmerized by Christine's performance. She sang with a great passion and anger because her old feelings were being bared. She could see her old Erik there with her as he sang. Erik was just as wild and passionate as he had been back then. Her jaw clenched and she threw the veil to the side even though that wasn't part of the script. She jabbed a finger at Erik and she vaguely heard herself sing out: fallen idol… False friend… Christine felt her heart rate go up again and her hands shook. People just thought it was good acting though.

Erik stormed up to her and towered over her as she fell to the ground. His face was an inch from hers as he roared, "YOU TRY MY PATIENCE!" He breathed heavily, his eyes burning with rage. They widened like a frightened animal's and he stumbled back, turning away from her and dropping his head in defeat. "Make your choice."

Christine's bottom lip quivered and she slowly stood up. "Pitiful creature of darkness… What kind of life have you known?" She felt her feet moving towards him, her eyes saw the real lair and her old Erik. "God give me courage to show you. You are not alone!" She whipped him around and kissed him passionately. However, Erik didn't kiss her back, he wasn't supposed to. His eyes closed and his hands fell to his sides as she kissed him. Christine pulled back like she was supposed to and hugged him tightly before kissing him again.

Right as Erik was scripted to accept the kiss, Professor Firmin shouted, "Alright kids, that's a wrap! Class dismissed. Wash up and head out of here, we'll pick back up from here on Wednesday!"

Erik pulled back slightly and grinned at her. "I'll meet you out front."

"Just umm… Hang on a second," Christine sighed and grabbed his face, kissing him deeply again. As they kissed, he tried to kiss her back eagerly, but the prosthetic was making it hard. She pulled back again and whispered, "You make me so happy, you know that?" That was the last thing she said before going into her dressing room, which made Erik smirk as he went off to change.

Christine texted Meg as she got changed, "This past thing has gone too far and too ridiculous. I'm letting go of it, all of it. I'm done with letting it affect my relationship."

"Are you sure? You just want to forget about the past?"

"Yes, I'm done," she texted back quickly. "It's just going to make me look crazy if Erik finds out and besides that if I keep doing this back and forth shit, it'll just hurt our relationship."

"Did something happen today?"

"Rehearsal was horrible. I fainted and I gave this whole speech to Erik. I feel so stupid."

"I'm sure he didn't even notice."

"He'll catch on someday, which is why I need to let go."

"Just do what's best for you Chrissy. Can you pick up a Pizza or something?"

"Yeah sure, Meggles. I'll see you when I get home." Christine threw her phone into her bag and went to meet Erik.

Erik was waiting for her in the front lobby. He still had a little makeup on, which Christine found absolutely adorably. She walked up to him and linked their arms together. "Hey, phantom," she chuckled. "The Megster requested a pizza."

"Ah, well. We can't deny her hm?"

"Hell no, we'd never hear the end of it," she agreed and they walked to their favorite pizza place to get a large cheese pizza for Meg, a pepperoni and sausage for Nadir, and green pepper and chicken for Christine. Erik ordered a large salad for himself. He had become quite the health nut thanks to Nadir.

They headed home and had a pizza party, but Nadir and Meg kept giving Christine worried looks as she attempted to move on that night. She didn't talk about the musical or any of her usual topics that related to the past. She was quiet and listened to Erik rave about how much he hated business classes. To everyone's surprise, she didn't ask him to quit like she always did, nor did she call his dad a: "Cock sucking low life," which always cheered Erik up.

"Alright kids, I have a shit ton of homework to do." He got up and brought his utensils to the kitchen before going to their room to do his work.

"Agreed, I've got a shit ton of math homework that I need to Google the answers to," Christine commented as she got up.

Erik slipped into sweats and sat at his desk, putting on his reading glasses and his headphones. He always listened to classical music while he studied. Christine just curled up with her laptop and coincidentally did the same, but for different reasons. Even though she was trying to forget the past, the music from 1880 made her feel at home and seeing her like that made Meg and Nadir all the more worried. It didn't faze Erik since he had no recollection of the past. It grew very late, well after midnight and Erik was still working.

When Christine was well finished with her homework and Erik hadn't called her to bed, she stared out the window, gazing at the high penthouse view. She drank in the planes that crossed the sky, the cars that lit up the night below, as well as the towering buildings that made her feel so small. "If this is how God intended it… For us to be here together in this time and place, then I won't go back," she promised. She got up and went into her bedroom, coaxing Erik to come to bed as she laid down. It was the start of a new life for Christine, a life she didn't want to be ruined by the past. However, certain aspects of this life would make that impossible for her.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: Dear old friend**

From then on out, Christine didn't recall the past and she didn't have memory shocks anymore. Things were going perfectly with the musical as well as between her and Erik. She was getting all A's in her classes and so was Erik and she had gotten that job in the college library to keep her busy. She was conforming solidly into her new life and had been going strong for weeks until one day, Raoul showed up in the library.

He strolled on up to the desk she was sitting behind.

"My, my, what do we have here?" He smirked at her.

"Fuck," Christine grumbled and didn't look away from the book she had just placed on the shelf. "What do you want, de Chagny, I am very, very busy."

"That's all you have to say to me?"

"Yes and no," she gave him a sickly sweet grin, finally meeting his eyes, only to find that the awful bully from high school had grown up into a man she used to know. "I have nothing to say to you, but ever since I completely learned English, my curse word vocabulary has grown quite extensively. Take your pick."

"That is no way to talk to your husband, Christine." His smirk grew.

"Ah, so that's why you came down here, hmm?" Christine growled and narrowed her eyes at him. "Well my darling hubby, you can take that hundred-year-old marriage and shove it up your ass. You couldn't let go of what happened with Erik and now it seems you still can't."

She then pleasantly smiled again and gathered her things to go.

"Christine… wait," he murmured in a way that did make her stop. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened both in the past and in high school. But I don't think it's right that you're with him. What if he remembers, but in the wrong time? What if… What if he hurts you."

Christine stood up and continued to put her things into her bag, but in an angry way anymore. She chose to listen.

"Raoul, it seems as though Erik won't remember, so I have decided to forget. Perhaps you should do the same," she sighed. "Come and walk with me."

"Y-you're gonna talk with me?" he truly sounded surprised and quickly followed her out of the library where they could speak better.

They found a bench outside the building and Christine bid him to take a seat.

"Listen to me, Raoul. I know whatever you must be feeling from the past is strong. You're probably feeling protective, noble, maybe even a little scared, but things have changed now. I'm very independent, I live with Erik, and… I'm really happy with the way things are going, okay?"

Raoul hung his head in defeat. "I just can't help how I feel about you, nor can he. I just want to make things right, Christine. I want you."

She took his hand sympathetically. For the first time in this life, they were getting along, maybe even better than they did in the past life. They listened to one another with open hearts.

"I know, but Raoul, you and I… This isn't our second chance to be together," Christine said gently. "This is for everyone to make things right, to be with the right people, to make a change. I don't think it would work out between us. I'm sorry."

Christine gave his hand a gentle kiss and stood up, giving him a little smile. That was their goodbye and Raoul just sat there, watching her go.

Erik and Christine didn't see one another until rehearsals that day. She didn't feel guilty for her talk with Raoul, it was going to happen someday, but she decided to text him. It was really for her own sake, making the silence go away from the thoughts of the past that plagued her mind ever since she saw the face of her previous husband.

"Hey babe, how was your shitty classes today?" she texted in a rush.

Unfortunately for her, he didn't reply all day, which made her day all the worse. By the time they saw one another, Erik already had the prosthetics on and he was in a chair with his head lolled back like he was dead.

The sight of him cat napping after classes made her smile. She walked past him with a textbook in hand and dropped it on his lap, startling him awake.

"Oof!" He choked out and sat up straight. When he saw that it was Christine, he smiled rambunctiously. "Well hello to you too, cutie."

"Uh huh," she chuckled and picked up a strawberry that was set out for the cast. "How was your day, le fantome?"

He rolled his eyes and answered, "Utterly boring and pointless. You?"

She just shrugged and tossed the end of the strawberry in the trash.

"Same shit, different day."

"You should get ready, love. We need to be on stage in fifteen minutes."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Last couple rehearsals," Christine said with false excitement. "Have you got the character down?"

"Yeah," he nodded slowly. "I've been doing some research and watching videos online of other actors."

"Huh… You know, I think the guy who nails the character the most is Hugh Panaro. Erik was kind of childish, honestly, and Hugh acted that out the best. He would go from being a menace one second to being afraid of you the next. You might wanna try that," she suggested.

"Yes, I think I will. Some of us were thinking about going to see it on Broadway before opening night."

"Oh," Christine mumbled, but then lightened up her voice. "That's great. It'll be nice for the cast members to do some bonding before show time."

"Yeah," Erik smiled and kissed her. "Okay now off with you, mademoiselle! I need some time to get into character and you need to get dressed."

"I bid you adieu, monsieur le fantome," she giggled and gave a mock curtsey before leaving.

The cast met out on stage for rehearsals and Erik entered in looking very dapper, which made Christine smile down at her feet. They all started from the top. Christine particularly favored the masquerade ball scene. She gave Webber credit for making her Erik look especially "bold" in his costuming. Even as the two of them went through the final lair scene, Christine didn't faint and she frankly didn't care. She had accepted the fact that her Erik was never coming back and she had found a way to be okay with that.

The show went wonderfully and they all had quite a bit of fun. Christine had never seen Erik so happy before. He was made to be a performer, but better yet, was accepted, which made her all the more proud and happy for him. They went out for drinks later with Meg and Nadir, who noticed how happy the couple was and how different things were now that Christine had decided to let go of the past.

"Maybe it wasn't a bad decision after all," Meg murmured to Nadir when they were getting ready to go to the bar. "Maybe it's for the best."

"Yes," he sighed as he watched Erik and Christine. "I just hope that it stays this way. That she made this decision for nothing… And that this modern Christine can accept the modern Erik."

"Only time will tell."

He nodded in agreement.

That evening, Erik got plastered drunk and kept ordering drinks for everyone. He ended up nuzzling against Christine's cheek like a cat at one point.

"Oh my god," she giggled hard. "You're so fucking cute when you're off your ass drunk."

"Mm… You're so warm," he sighed, his breath smelling thickly of rum. "And soft…"

He slid his hand between her thighs with a boyish giggle, which Christine slapped away. She shook her finger at him and he tried to bite said finger, making Meg laugh at the two of them.

"Christ alive, Erik!" Christine laughed out.

She really wasn't used to him being this forward with her in public. She gave him a chaste kiss on the mouth, which he returned most eagerly, but it was a little sloppy since Jack Daniels had taken the wheel.

"I like you drunk," she growled in his ear before grazing her teeth along his earlobe. "You're not as shy… You're not afraid to take what you want."

"Mmm…" Erik started to speak but was suddenly shaken and yelped in surprise as Nadir spilled his ice water him.

Nadir started laughing hard and stuffing ice cubes down Erik's shirt.

"Fuck you!" Erik groaned and threw the ice cubes at him in retaliation.

Christine and Meg were nearly on the floor, laughing at them and shaking their heads at how childish their boyfriends were.

"Ugh, I'm all wet now," Erik whined.

Nadir laughed to the point that he was nearly crying. They were all having an amazing time and on the verge of an all-out food fight. Erik took the ketchup and started squirting it at Nadir.

All was well until a voice sounded right behind Christine right as she was about to join in on the fight.

"Excuse me?" Her blood ran cold. "Is this seat taken?" It was Raoul, in a very nice suit, and he was getting ready to sit down next to Christine. "Or are the loud drunks across the table going to bother us?"

When Erik heard his voice, he put down the ketchup and glared at him.

"Hey! You can't be here!" His words were slurred.

"Oh can't I?" Raoul chuckled and sat down anyway. "What are you going to do about it anyway?"

He laughed in a way that was charming and most girls would swoon at, but Christine glared and Meg grabbed her arm.

"I'm taking you home, right now," she said in a motherly way, but Raoul stopped her.

"Meg, come now. Christine and I are in the middle of a conversation," he purred.

Erik, fuming with drunken anger, got up and stumbled a bit.

"You," he jabbed his finger at Raoul's chest. "You can't talk to her! She's mine!"

"Really," he smirked at Erik and murmured. "I would hate for her to think otherwise…"

Raoul boldly took a strand of her curly hair. Normally, Christine would've punched him in the face, but she was frozen. The alcohol had numbed her senses.

"I think I know her much better than you do."

"Hey! Don't touch her!"

Erik tried to punch him from across the table, but his swings were way off from hitting Raoul and it was a little pathetic to look at.

"That's enough from the both of you," Christine said, sobering up. "Nadir, calm him down. And you come with me."

Christine got up from the table and took Raoul out to the dancefloor.

"Fuck off you… You um… Pig!" Erik stuttered out as he sat back in his seat with his head against the table. "Mm, I got him…"

Meg and Nadir took care of Erik, who didn't even know Christine was with Raoul.

"Was that really necessary?" Christine snapped. "I thought we straightened things up today."

"Yeah, well," Raoul tried to reason, but there was no other excuse. "Maybe it's because I'm still in love with you! I mean you can't walk away from it all, Christine, there are feelings still there!"

"That was over a century ago and keep your voice down," she snapped as they made their way through the crowd at the bar to the doors.

When they got outside, Raoul took her hands. He held them tightly, desperately.

"Please, Christine," he whispered. "I don't want to see you get hurt by him. I don't want to lose you."

"It's over, Raoul," she sighed and pulled her hands away gently. "I don't want to be the one who hurts you… But you need to get this in your head. You and I… It's not going to happen again. I with Erik and I'm very happy. We're happy together."

Raoul had tears in his eyes and that made Christine feel all the more awful. She agreed that there were feelings still there, but those feelings had faded. They weren't regarded to her anymore because her feelings for Erik had grown past whatever she felt for Raoul. He hugged her back tightly, thumbing his way through her curls.

"Please…"

"If life wanted us to be together, we would've stayed buried in the ground next to one another. I loved you, you were my husband, you were my everything back then, but I'm not that girl by the sea anymore."

Christine pulled away and smiled up at him. She had tears in her eyes too now but was too strong to let them fall. She couldn't cave, not when he was struggling.

"And you're no longer that little boy sopping wet from the ocean water, scarf in hand," she laughed sadly. "It's time to move on, Raoul… It's time to be the people we were meant to be, without the chains of the past. I hope you can move past this… Past me."

He nodded once and wiped the tears from his eyes. He turned to walk away, knowing he wasn't welcome around her or inside the bar anymore. However, before he walked away, he paused and looked back at her.

"You'll always be my little Lotte."

The look he had in his eyes made her smile, finally a tear falling down her cheek. Some of those memories were good ones that she had with him, but they were old and unnecessary now.

"And you'll always be the little vicomte who saved my scarf."

"Goodbye, Christine," he said as he turned away once more. "If there's anything you need… Call."

"Bye, Raoul," she whispered back and quickly headed back into the bar.

When she got back inside, Nadir had gotten Erik up and was dragging him to the door. Meg had a worried look on her face that was soothed when she saw Christine enter back in.

"You guys ready to go?" Christine asked in a falsely cheery voice.

"Yeah, I think the big shot phantom is ready to go home," Nadir commented and practically carried Erik the whole way home.

The four of them got home and Nadir laid Erik in bed where he slept on top of the covers with his shoes still on. Meg tried to comfort Christine and ask what happened.

"Raoul just came to say goodbye," she said, which was partially true. "That's all."

"Is there anything I can do?" Meg inquired gently, knowing her friend better than the answer she was given.

"No, I'm fine," she whispered and gave her arm a squeeze before going to sleep on the couch.

Nadir reemerged from Erik's room and held Meg close.

"You know, I don't think she's okay at all," he murmured.

Meg looked up at Nadir in surprise that he was holding her with the other two around. He just shook his head, not thinking anything of it, and kissed the top of her head before going to sleep.

"Goodnight, Meg, happy hangover," he chuckled.

"G-goodnight…"

The next morning was filled with hangover cures, coffee, and silence. When Nadir and Meg dragged their way to the kitchen, they noticed that Christine was gone. She had left a note saying that she was at work and would be going grocery shopping later. Opening night was only two days away and the three of them could feel it: something bad was going to happen. They were all anxious, which was why Christine was so insistent on going to work despite her raging headache and upset stomach.

For the first time all year, Erik didn't go to his classes because he was so hungover. He didn't feel the same anxiety they did, which was why he didn't care to keep himself busy today. He woke up and immediately threw up.

"That sounded good!" Nadir called from the living room.

He groaned and laid on the floor, "I wanna die."

"Well you look great," he chuckled and leaned against the doorframe, drinking a cup of coffee as he watched his friend suffer.

"What even happened last night?" he sighed and sat up, holding his head.

"Well… We drank a lot and then Raoul came to the bar. He kind of harassed us a bit… You don't remember?"

"No, not really," he muttered. "Where's Chris?"

"She left this morning for work before any of us were up. I have no idea how, we were all hammered last night."

"Mm, Nadir, stop spinning…"

"Christ, Erik," he chuckled. "Go lay back down, I'll make you some coffee."

"Mmkay, thanks," he yawned and dragged himself back to bed.

Erik laid down in bed, Meg and Nadir lounged in the living room quietly that way they wouldn't disturb him. They didn't hear a peep out of Christine all day and Erik was going to call her, but he fell asleep before he could. She didn't make an appearance at all until later in the day when she came home with groceries in hand and a box wrapped in paper that looked like musical scores.

"Hey," Meg said gently and sat up on the couch when her friend entered the apartment. "How was work? I'm surprised that you went to work after last night."

"I wasn't that drunk," Christine stated and placed the groceries on the table.

"You know what I mean."

"Raoul's not going to bother me."

"I wouldn't risk it."

"He really doesn't bother me, Meg," she sighed. "To be honest, last night was good for us. He came to claim me since he remembered the past, but I told him that I was with Erik and I was happy. We said our goodbyes and that was that."

This answer surprised the two on the couch.

"Alright, well damn," Meg breathed out. "Then I guess you don't have a lot to worry about now… But you should just be wary. Just because you're not in the past anymore, doesn't mean he won't try to pull you back."

"I can take care of myself," Christine affirmed and held the wrapped box tightly. "The last thing I need if for Erik to learn about the past… About us. So it's best for me to just stay away from it all in general."

Eyeing the box, Meg decided to change topics for the sake of Christine's comfort, "What's that?"

"A surprise for, Erik," she stated and grinned down at it. "I'm going to give it to him on opening night as appreciation for his work and because I'm so proud of him."

Meg gave her a smile and they chatted awhile longer, but the anxiety that lingered in the room and a groaning Erik kept conversations short.

Christine helped her hungover love get ready for the musical the cast was seeing that night, Phantom in Majestic Theater and Erik was nowhere near ready since he slept the whole day. The two wore business casual clothes after Christine convinced Erik to shower and shave, though he was still feeling poorly.

He tried to soothe his aching head and churning stomach, but nothing seemed to help. He really wasn't up to see a show that night, but he took Christine's hand and they waited with the cast to be let into the theater.

"Love, do you want anything to drink?" Erik tried to ask gentlemanly, but his voice came out more like a croak.

"No thank you," she murmured and kissed his cheek. "I think I still need to recover from last night."

"I'm just going to see if they have something bubbly to sooth my stomach," he stated, which sounded more like a groan.

He slowly made his way back out to the lobby and came back just as they lights dimmed. When he took his seat once more, he laid his head on her shoulder in misery.

"Do you we need to go home?" Christine asked in worry.

She didn't want him getting sick in the middle of the theater.

"Mm no, I'll be fine. Now shhh, the shows starting."

"Mmkay," she huffed, not going to argue.

Christine leaned back in her seat and nuzzled against his head. She wasn't too happy about seeing this show either, but she remained indifferent as best as she could. Erik ended up asleep on her shoulder and missed the entire show. So, Christine had to sit through all of the painful memories while Erik snored quietly against her, but she used it as a test. She figured if she could watch and stay calm and unaffected, then she could handle anything else her past threw at her and she ended up making it the entire show without fainting or feeling pain. She was rather proud of herself. She had to shake Erik awake at the end. "Mmm? Is it starting?" he asked sleepily.

"Yeah, it did… and now it's over," she giggled and helped him to his feet. "Let's get you home."

"It's over?" He looked around deliriously. "I'm so sorry!"

"It's okay, you make a better Erik anyway," she sighed and wrapped her arm around his waist. "It was nice having you that close. You were so adorable, I didn't want to wake you."

"You're the best… Now let's go home and sleep. We have a big day coming up."

"Yeah, the start of a new life in show business, hmm? If we will get a lot of good reviews, maybe a big name will come to watch us," she said hopefully.

It was surprising to Erik that she didn't complain anymore about doing the show and that she was actually looking forward to it.

"You're excited now?" He raised an eyebrow a hopeful, yet tired, smile on his face.

"Hmm? Yeah, sure," she shrugged. "A job is a job, but it's a dream come true if I get to do it with you."

He smiled and kissed her head. They made their way home and he collapsed on the bed.

"Ugh, I'm never drinking again."

"You say that now, but after opening night, we're celebrating like crazy," she giggled.

"That's tomorrow. It's still today and Erik wants to sleep today," he mumbled against his pillow.

Christine smiled and stroked his hair back, whispering to him, "Goodnight, my angel."

"Mm night…" And just like that, he was asleep in seconds.


	16. Chapter 16

My dearest readers,

I'm sorry for the very, very delayed chapter update, but the other author and I had a bit of a falling out. So, I will be finishing this story myself from now on. Thanks very much for everyone's patience and continued reading of this story! As always message me with comments or requests for other stories!

Xoxo,

ThatAwkwardSoftball


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 16: Showtime**

It was the day of opening night and Christine and Erik spent the whole day getting ready at that theater. Christine was in her dressing room and she felt fine, more than fine as a matter of fact. She stared at herself in the mirror. With her ballerina costume and plastered on stage makeup, it made her smile; it was nice for her to be a star again.

Meg and Nadir were in the front row and Raoul was in the back. The two roommates were worried about Christine. She hadn't felt that constant anxiety because she never let herself think of the past anymore. If she had been, she would've felt that something was off about this day too. Everyone was excited for the show to start and Christine couldn't wait to see Erik on stage since they hadn't seen each other all day long.

As the curtain rose, Christine felt a surge of excitement go through her. She couldn't wait to hear the claps, to see the faces of everyone, and play make believe on the stage. The music began and the prop chandelier rose. It was time to play this part for the first time and the last time.

The first half of the show went beautifully. From the twirling colors of the dancers to beautiful music from Christine and Erik, and every perfect scene made the audience on the edge of their seat for more. No one had any idea how good the leads were. When it was intermission, Christine and Erik got changed into their masquerade gear.

"Hello, hello," Christine called to Erik quietly and grinned at him while she fixed her moon tiara. "How are you holding up?"

She was returned with a grin and a light kiss from him so he wouldn't ruin their makeup.

"Great! This is fun," he gushed. "I feel so connected to this character. I never thought I would, but it just feels… right. You know?"

"Yeah… I know," she sighed and wrapped her arms around him in his bulky, red costume. "Listen, after the show, I got you a little present to show you how proud I am of you and… And how much I love you."

"You did? But...I didn't get you anything…" He frowned and looked a little ashamed.

"Oh hush," Christine chuckled. "I don't need anything, I have you."

"We better get in our places. I love you so much."

Erik brushed his hand across her jaw lovingly and cupped her chin. Christine couldn't help but feel a surge of affection towards him and leaned into his touch.

"I love you too," she said with one last kiss. "See you when the curtain falls."

In the audience, Meg and Nadir chuckled when Erik stormed the stage, breaking up the merriment of the masquerade. However, while they were enjoying the show, Raoul was staring Christine down as she strutted on stage with his own character. All was going well and Erik seemed to become more and more like his character, not knowing it was his old self and before they knew it, they had reached the scene of Don Juan Triumphant.

Together, Christine and Erik were on stage, touching and swaying with one another. Christine shuddered visibly at the sound of Erik's voice and his actions were sensuous to the point that it caught Nadir's attention. This wasn't quite acting anymore.

"Something's wrong," he mumbled to Meg, as Erik's voice grew more desperate.

However, it was only making Christine hot and flustered on stage, instead of making her suspicious. For all Erik knew, he truly was Don Juan and he was trying to win the lady before him. There was something tense in the air as they came closer on stage when Christine would reveal his mask.

Christine finished her verse of The Point of No Return and whipped the hood off his head. She let out a sharp gasp and backed away from him like she was supposed to. His eyes widened and he tried to run but the guards held guns at him so he couldn't. He took a breath and started to sing to her, the song Raoul had sung. He begged for her love and came over to her, dropping to his knee as he held out a ring and slipped it on her finger.

"Anywhere you go let me go too," Erik sang gently, her hands reached up to cup his cheeks as if to kiss him. "Christine that's all I ask of-"

The audience was completely silent as Erik let out a gut-wrenching cry when Christine tore the mask from his face. That's when Erik gripped her wrist with a force that he didn't at all do in rehearsals. It even made her let out a soft whimper and he rushed them off stage with an urgency that was blind and desperate. Instead of going backstage and letting her go so they could change, he kept going down below. The cast members watched in shock and thought it was part of the act, but Erik raced her down to the basement.

Blindly, Erik raced below. Not noticing the fact that he was surrounded by young college students, props, and technology that didn't at all match the setting he was used to. Even when Christine tried to call out to him to stop, he couldn't hear her. He just rushed to the lowest point of the building, where he thought he belonged.

When they didn't emerge back on stage for a while, Nadir made Meg get up, and go backstage. He knew something was wrong. They didn't notice, but Raoul had vacated his seat from the back row.

"What's happened?" Meg whispered nervously.

"Erik seems to have taken a trip down memory lane," Nadir stated intensely.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 17: Memory lane**

Erik jerked Christine by her arm off stage a little more forcefully than they had rehearsed. Though she tried to keep up with him, she ended up stumbling behind. She snapped at him in bewilderment when they went down the stairs of the basement, but he wasn't listening.

"Ouch, dammit! Erik, you're hurting me! What in the hell are you doing?! Let me go!"

"Down once more…" he mumbled to himself. "If I belong in hell, you will be there with me."

He pulled her along further, not having processed that this was indeed not his opera house, there were no cellar stairs to climb down, and no lake to cross. Christine frowned at his statement and nearly tripped and fell from the skirt her frilly Amnita costume.

"Erik! Stop, please!" she cried out again, yanking her arm from his hold and gripping his hand instead. "What's the matter with you?!"

"He will not take you away from me… You're mine!" he suddenly hissed in her face.

A dawning realization peeked in her mind, but everything had gone so fast that it hadn't registered yet in her brain what exactly was happening. She placed her feet firmly on the ground and tensed up so her body refused to move along with him. This angered Erik to a near breaking point. All his mind told him to do was run, keep going lower and lower until they cannot find either of them.

"What are you doing, you damned fool!" He growled and tried to keep pulling her along. "You'll get us both killed! Would you rather choose death over me?!"

Racks of old costumes and aged props were in their way, but his vision was fogged with red and black, and old memories that made his head hurt but urged him onward. He saw her as she used to be, though there really weren't too many differences, other than the fact now she wasn't afraid of him, but angered at his brash actions.

"NO!" Christine snapped stubbornly and slapped his hand away with a force he didn't know she had. "We have to finish the show! What's wrong with you?!"

"Do not test me, child! They want to arrest me! Don't pretend like I don't know that's what you want! And it is my show, it was my trap to get you back!" He stated as if it were obvious.

He released her hand so he could figure out where they were exactly. Nothing looked right, nor did it make sense as his vision cleared. Where were the passageways he knew so well? Where in God's name was the terrible smell of the lake water? This caused him turned and glared at her, but she glared right back at him.

"What did you do?!" He roared in her face, certain that this was a trick of hers, probably assisted by the Vicomte.

At first, she was bewildered and furious, but this expression fell and the glare she held turned to narrowed eyes. She looked serious, her voice very low when she spoke again:

"Wh-what… Erik, what year is it?"

"Do not change the subject!" Erik objected madly. "If you will not help me, I shall find the way down myself! God those buffoon managers let this place fall to shambles!"

"Well shit," she said softly, shakily.

However, she then started laughing to Erik's dismay and held his hand once more, gently.

"Of course you're here now! The show… That must've made your mind go back… And all this after I've let go of the thought of you… After I've said goodbye, but I suppose you're here nonetheless," she sighed.

"Y-You are speaking nonsense!" Erik tried to argue back, but it was hard to do so when she spoke so sweetly and his voice broke ever so slightly due to her tender touch on his hand.

Her hands were so soft… Her fingernails shined in the fluorescent lighting of the basement, which only confused Erik further. It was quite hard for him to focus, with the strange surroundings and horrid ache in his head, but even more so difficult to hold on to his anger due to Christine and her loving touch. It was a feeling that Erik, to his recollection, had never felt before.

Only Christine could melt his anger away like that, but it had never happened before in his mind. His irrational anger was completely depleted when she pulled his hand up to her lips and placed them on his knuckles. He had no time to ask her why or sob at the sight of such tender, kind actions when they heard people calling their names. This made her squeeze his hand and it was her turn to lead him down further into the basement.

"Quickly, Erik, go," she instructed him in a rush. "They can't find you. They can't see you like this."

Her eager and protective actions surprised Erik, possibly almost as much as the kiss had. Only in his wildest dreams and imaginations had he ever thought her to come with him and be his bride so willingly.

When they reached some forgotten corner of the basement where no one would find them due to the surrounding props that hid them away like a childhood fort, Christine could finally relax ever so briefly and bask in this moment. Though, she wasn't quite sure what to do. True, she had dreamed of this moment almost daily, now that it was here, she was at a loss for words. So instead of speaking, she went up to him and wrapped her arms around his stiff body. She hid her face against his cloak, which caused Erik to tense up more. He unsure of how to react to her affections.

This is it, she thought. This is my second chance to make things right.

Constantly, she would imagine being back in the lair with Erik again, not so young, not so shallow or naive. She would talk with him and do things the right way. She would make amends and kiss his fingers to soothe his rage. She day dreamed about how he would react when she hugged him for the first time and the first kiss for him in his dated memories… It made her shudder at the thought of what his reactions would be when there wasn't a fiancé's life on the line. Would he push her away again? Or would he accept the kiss and it lead to more lover's actions? This was their only moment like this, a moment to be alone before they both had to face reality once more and Christine wasn't going to waste it.

Ever so softly she whispered against him, "Everything that you think you know about me, is wrong."

Erik's eyes widened a bit, he had barely registered what she said. "I-I beg your pardon?"

"Oh Erik…" she breathed out, making him shudder again. "If only you knew how I truly felt back then. I was afraid, I was so young… Now things can change for the better. For the both of us."

Her kind words shook Erik to his very core and he fell to his knees before her. He kissed the hem of her costume skirt and wept softly.

"Oh, my angel… I'm so sorry that I frightened you," he sobbed. "I only ever wanted you to love me, to be my living bride! I would be so good to you. I would be gentle and benevolent. Please… I don't want you to fear me…"

He had never felt so naked in his life without his mask on and hid, what he believed to be his true face, into Christine's skirt.

"You don't have to be afraid anymore, Erik," Christine stated strongly as she knelt down before him as well, taking his face into her hands. "For I am not afraid. Not anymore."

She wiped his tears away and smiled at him. She gently stroked his jaw and it only caused him to weep harder. Christine took him into her arms and held him tightly, rocking him gently like a child.

"Erik… Forget your pain and suffering of the past, just for a moment. Think only of me, because I'm not going anywhere. I'm here," she cooed in his ear. "And I love you."

"You… You love me," he echoed.

Erik wasn't convinced if he could believe her. Though Christine's actions, tender as they were and quick to be done to calm him, were too overwhelming for someone who'd only just gotten their memories back and it made his head swim.

"I'm sorry it took so long… I didn't know that I needed you, that my life would be so different and wonderful with you in it," she whispered into his ear.

She tilted her head and started to kiss across his jaw, slowly dragging her lips up to his mouth, and pausing a moment just before she planted her kiss. She stared into his widened eyes and let him see the love and desire in her own before shutting her eyes from delight. This kiss didn't last for very long and, just as he had done so in the past, Erik didn't kiss her back. He didn't know how.

"I want to be with you, my angel of music, and I want… I want you," Christine stated very bluntly after she'd pulled back, for she knew there was no getting to Erik unless she was straight-forward.

Not to mention too, she was loving his reaction. She wished she'd done this a hundred years earlier to see those sad eyes light up with shock and awe.

"You want me," Erik repeated her words to himself in a whisper once again.

She chuckled softly at his trembling hands and his watery eyes that seemed like they wouldn't ever blind from astonishment. She smiled up at him and cupped his cheeks. She brought his face to hers and kissed him once more. Erik still didn't quite kiss her back, but Christine didn't mind. She closed her eyes happily and brought him much closer. Eventually though, to her utmost delight, Erik finally closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her loosely.

"Oh Erik," she breathed out, "I missed you."

"M-missed me?" Erik asked breathlessly.

He didn't really know what to do in this moment, even his wildest imaginations hadn't gotten him this far. In such a strange place that wasn't his home, down on his knees kissing the woman he loved so dearly.

"So much," she confirmed and hugged him again.

This time, Erik could feel her trembling, or was that his own body's tremors? He couldn't tell, all he knew was that this was either a horribly cruel dream from a too high dose of morphine, or perhaps he had gotten shot on stage after all and death was being kind. It was all too good to be true.

"I hope we have more time…" Christine found herself muttering. "They'll come for us soon."

Her words struck fear in him and he growled, grabbing her tighter, protectively.

"I think not," he hissed and gripped tightly at the fabric of her dress. "They won't take you from me."

His words caused her to shudder in delight and kiss him again. The force of her action made Erik melt against her. However, Christine was right, they were coming for them, but not in the way Erik thought. The stage managers were looking everywhere for them, the understudies were worried, but got ready just in case the two leading roles never came back, and the crew had the curtain on hold much to the audience's dismay. The show had to go on eventually.

Christine could care less at that moment though and she pulled herself onto Erik's lap, never breaking their kiss. She wrapped her legs around his waist and her thin costume skirt rode up her legs as she did so. Erik, on the other hand, had absolutely no idea what was going on. He just did his best to keep up with Christine's fevered kisses and had utterly no clue what to do with the rest of himself.

A surge of desire went through Erik when she moaned quietly against his mouth and it caused him to wrap his arms tightly around her. Christine trailed her mouth from his lips and down to his neck where she continued her heated kisses. His pants were becoming uncomfortably tight and he found himself fumbling with the back ties of her costume.

"Christine…" he moaned out. "I-I…"

"Mm," was her response, an eager smile on her swollen lips.

She trailed her hand down the front of his chest and he watched it with hooded eyes as it disappeared underneath his cloak. Christine knew his body like the back of her hand and knew how to pleasure him quickly since they were short on time. Erik grabbed her arm with a bruising force when she reached inside his trousers and held his hardened length in her hand.

"Christine… Th-this isn't proper… It isn't right," Erik choked out breathlessly.

However, his actions betrayed his words as he arched his hips into her hand. It made Christine smirk and move her hand faster, making Erik squirm in pleasure. He moaned and bucked his hips to the rhythm she kept. He tried to keep his eyes open to watch her but found them screwed shut before long as he let out a long, drawn out moan.

Erik felt like his bones were glass and every piece of him was shattering into oblivion. He couldn't catch his breath and ended up laying back on the cold, damp floor as Christine wiped off her hand on an old, moth eaten costume.

"I forgot that he wouldn't know the experiences of the flesh," she murmured to herself.

It only made Christine all the more smug to think about just how he'll react when he's with her for the first time, again. But it would have to wait, Christine knew that she would be in trouble when she went back upstairs and knew very well that there was no way Erik could come with her.

She glanced back over at him and smiled at the look on his face. He was still a heaping, panting mess on the floor as he tried to compose himself. It pained her that she knew she had to leave him, more than he could know, but he had to understand that it was for his safety.

Erik caught her staring and felt his cheeks grow hot under her gaze. He sat up quickly and fixed the cloak and his trousers, his hands fumbling all the while and made Christine giggle. When he gave her a little smile as he looked up again, however, her expression was nearly sad.

"What is it?" He asked fearfully, hoping that he hadn't done something wrong already.

"I have to return… To stop them from looking for you. I have to finish the show," she sighed. "Meaningless things when it comes to you, but nevertheless I must do it."

"I'm not letting you go up there," Erik said urgently and grabbed her hands. "Not now… Not after I've just gotten you to be...Mine."

He brought her hands up to his lips and trembled as she let him kiss the soft skin atop her knuckles.

"Please don't go," he whispered brokenly.

"I'll send Nadir and Meg to come get you, to bring you home… To get you out of here," she whispered as she moved her hands to cup his cheeks. "Things are going to be frightening in the world above. You'll see things you won't understand, but just keep it in your mind that I'm not far behind you. I'll see you soon and I will show you everything."

Erik felt tears sting his eyes once more. He wanted to be angry and hateful once more, but how could he? After the kind words she'd spoken and the way, she'd done… Whatever it was that she did before to pleasure him. He felt like a whipped pup as he nodded in defeat.

Christine kissed him hard and it made Erik hold her as tight as he could. He felt the curves of her body, the coarseness of her curls that were rigid from hairspray, and the warmth of her that made him feel whole.

She gave him one final kiss and whisper, "Remember, I'm right behind you. We'll be together before you know it. I swear it, you have to trust me. Please, stay here."

With his last nod of consent, Christine reluctantly rose up and released his hand. She couldn't take her eyes off of him as she walked back until she knew she had to go quickly. For all Erik knew, she was leaving him forever and sending the mob down here to kill him, but he did what he could to rely on her trust and it didn't give him much comfort. All he could do was lay back on the old costumes and bask in the aftermath of the pleasure he'd received.

It didn't take Christine long to find Nadir and Meg, who were a part of the search party for the two missing leads. All she had to do was mutter the word "basement" to the both of them and they bolted down there as quickly as they could. Finding Erik was an easy task, but getting him out of the theater unseen was definitely more difficult.

Christine, on the other hand, was rushed into her wedding dress costume after she told the stage managers some hasty lie about Erik getting sick offstage. What did it matter? He wasn't there and she was. So the understudy for Erik played his role and Christine finished hers, and finishing the musical took time, but made a perfect distraction for Meg and Nadir to find Erik and get him home.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 18: Second Chances**

When Nadir and Meg crossed paths with Christine, she looked angry and determined as she was plagued with irritated stage managers. The look on her face told them everything they needed to know and one brief word got them racing around once more.

"Basement," Christine said in one quick breath before being whisked away by the costume department.

Nadir felt butterflies of excitement in his gut. He was looking forward to seeing his grumpy, old friend once more. Whereas Meg was frightened of what the crazed opera ghost would have in store for them as they showed him New York City and all its new sights and sounds. It would be a lot for Erik to endure, especially without Christine by his side. However, there weren't many options for them to choose from, either wait for Christine to be done with the show and risk getting caught, or rush Erik home as fast as they could and deal with the consequences later.

The couple found Erik still laying on the costumes, staring up at the ceiling. He seemed to be in a daze of memories flashing before his eyes and didn't notice his old friend approach.

Nadir, unable to contain his thrill, called out to him, "The hell are you doing on the ground, opera ghost?"

Erik's head snapped up and he sat up quickly, chuckling cruelly when he saw Nadir.

"Daroga, what a joy to see your face again. And Miss Giry, quite a surprise to see you once more too."

"There's no time for this, Erik, unfortunately," Nadir sighed, with a sympathetic smile. "We gotta get you outta here before someone sees."

"I'm not leaving without Christine. She will not sacrifice herself for me," he snorted stubbornly.

"Christine didn't sacrifice herself for you, dumbass, she's just finishing the show so no one will find you down here in your… Condition," Meg tried to explain, but failed when Erik continued to be his old, perverse self.

"Daroga, I've only just gained her affections and I will not lose them in the same hour I received them due to cowardice!" Erik hissed and stood up, however, he wasn't as menacing as he could be in this moment.

It was true, he had the skill in his mind to kill either of them, but he was still incredibly woozy from the transition he'd just gone through only moments ago and the pleasure he'd received from Christine. He was overwhelmed and overstimulated, but it would only get worse from there.

So, in order to get somewhere with this ornery man, Nadir decided to lie to him and Meg nodded along with a hidden smile as he spoke.

"Fine then, have it your way," he began, "Christine is upstairs, but there's only one way for us to rescue her."

"I don't require your assistance, Daroga!" Erik's voice sounded shaky as he spoke. "I'm following her instructions and I waited for you to arrive. Now that you've seen me, I'm going after her and I'll kill every last man who stands in my way!"

"Big words for a guy who doesn't know where he is," Meg mumbled under her breath.

He didn't know what was going on or where exactly he was. He was becoming more certain that he wasn't in the opera house anymore because of the strange costumes he'd never seen used before in any production, nor had he ever missed a production in the opera house's history. As well as the way Nadir and Meg were dressed was concerning to him. He was unsure of what to do or guess at, but there was only one thing in his mind he was entirely certain of: he needed to be with Christine and would do anything to make that happen.

"Where is she exactly?" he mumbled in defeat.

"She's upstairs like I said," Nadir stated and thought for a moment, "But they probably moved her since you… Kidnapped her."

"Blasted! It was most likely that damnable Vicomte who stole her away from me!"

Meg did her best not to giggle at Erik's dramatics and prayed for the strength to keep a concerned look on her face for his sake.

"Yes, but we can still catch them in time! I know where they are going and if you come with us, we will show you to Christine."

Nadir waved Erik along and, like a dubious child, he followed him and Meg. However, when they reached the backstage level, the confusion and headache for Erik only grew. He groaned and held his head in his hands, which gave Meg and Nadir the perfect opportunity to rush him to the back door. The people who did see Erik began to believe Christine's bullshit story of how he ran offstage like that to only get sick. The Erik they saw get rushed by was pale and sweating, being escorted by his roommates as fast as they possibly could out of the building.

"Poor guy," one stagehand commented. "He was doing such a good job."

"Yeah, but something shitty always happens on opening night, otherwise it never turns out to be a good show," a manager stated as they saw the three roommates disappear through the exit.

"Meg go get the car, quickly!" Nadir instructed and held Erik's arm tightly. "Keep your eyes down, my friend, you will only panic at the sights before you."

"Nhgn," was his pathetic response as he continued to hold his head, his hands over both his ears to try and stop the ringing in his ears.

It didn't take long for Meg to pull up the car and for Nadir to shove Erik in the backseat.

"Okay, we're good to go back here! Try to take any back roads back to the apartment, that way he doesn't get too overwhelmed."

"Nadir, it's a little late for that," Meg huffed but drove away anyway.

As Erik disobeyed Nadir's instructions, he nearly went into shock. When he looked up through the window of the car, he was started breathing harshly. They were going so much faster than any horse could carry them, but there were no horses in sight. The cars, for one, were extremely concerning. Where were the horses? The muddy streets? The buildings were another shock, taller than any he'd ever seen before with more glass than any torture chamber he'd built in Persia. He watched the people, busily walking by, their devices glowing in their faces, and their strange dress. Where were the dresses? The suits and top hats? Where was the dignity when it came to how they looked? All the differences had Erik staring out the window unblinkingly until Nadir placed a soothing hand on his shoulder.

"It's going to be alright, Erik," he said quietly. "It's just a little different now…"

"Christine asked me what year it was…" Erik wheezed out. "I'm going to inquire the same thing."

"The year is 2016," he said honestly. "And… We've been given a second chance at life."

"What the bloody hell happened to the first chance?!" Erik hissed back, but his rage died away when his headache flared.

"It died with you… I'm sorry to say. Your broken heart must've enticed whatever deity that takes pity on us and it was enough to let us start anew."

"So, I died? Wonderful," he grumbled.

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"Christine… I took Christine like I planned to do so. She looked so lovely in that wedding dress, but she was terrified of me... I should've been more comforting and gentle with her, my little angel."

"Alright… Well, a lot of things changed after that-"

"Nadir! Don't ruin this for Christine! Let her explain things to him before you fuck it up!" Meg snapped from the driver's seat and gave Nadir a harsh glare from the rearview mirror.

"Sorry… Just trying to give him a heads up."

"Young woman, your language is atrocious!" Erik announced in bewilderment.

This made both Nadir and Meg laugh, knowing that Christine cursed more than the two of them combined. Erik, frowned, as he failed to see what was humorous about his statement. He pressed his forehead to the seat in front of him and closed his eyes, keeping them closed until the ride was over so that he didn't have to see the confusion that was outside his window or the unfamiliarity of the strangers in the vehicle that was once his friend and a child he used to frighten. This was a nightmare to him, too many new senses and pains, to which he was completely powerless to defending and worse, for all he knew, Christine was gone forever.

He let Nadir practically drag him into the building they parked by and into a contraption that elevated them high into the structure, which caught his attention. Taking him out of his melancholy state, Erik, already curious by nature, started pressing more buttons on the elevator and watched them light up the numbers painted on them.

"Fascinating…"

As any man of science would do, he began pressing all the buttons he could.

"Erik- No, wait… Erik stop!" Nadir yelped and grabbed Erik's hand before he could press the fire alarm.

"Whelp, only ten more floors to go before we get to ours," Meg said pleasantly as Nadir wrestled around with Erik.


End file.
